Meaning & use
altercation
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableformal
A heated, noisy quarrel between people, which may sometimes turn into pushing or hitting.
Grammar: Often takes an or an: a brief altercation. It is usually followed by with or between.
Patterns
- an altercation with someone
- an altercation between people
- an altercation over something
Police were called after an altercation outside the stadium.
He got into an altercation with a neighbor over a parking space.
The altercation between the two drivers ended when a passerby stepped in.
Word forms
| plural | altercations |
|---|
Common combinations
- a heated altercation
- A heated altercation broke out at the meeting.
- get into an altercation
- Two fans got into an altercation near the gate.
- a verbal altercation
- The officer said it began as a verbal altercation.
- a physical altercation
- Nobody was hurt in the physical altercation.
- altercation with
- His altercation with the referee earned him a red card.
Synonyms and how they differ
- row
- Row is a more casual, mainly British word for a noisy argument and rarely suggests any violence.
- scuffle
- Scuffle stresses a short, messy bit of physical struggle rather than angry words.
- quarrel
- Quarrel is a general word for an angry argument and sounds less official than altercation.
Opposites
Word family
- altercate verb
- to argue angrily (rare and formal)
Commonly confused: altercation or alteration?
altercation vs alteration
An alteration is a change, such as to a piece of clothing, and has nothing to do with arguing.
Practice
The police report described a brief ___ between two customers in the checkout line.
Choose one answer.
Altercation means an angry quarrel. Alteration is tempting because it looks similar, but it means a change.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “altercation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.