faction

(făk'shən)
n.

1. A group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group.
2. Conflict within an organization or nation; internal dissension: "Our own beloved country . . . is now afflicted with faction and civil war" (Abraham Lincoln).

[French, from Latin factiō, factiōn-, from factus, past participle of facere, to do.]

factional fac'tion·al adj.
factionalism fac'tion·al·ism n.
factionally fac'tion·al·ly adv.

fac·tion² (făk'shən)
n.

1. A form of literature or filmmaking that treats real people or events as if they were fictional or uses real people or events as essential elements in an otherwise fictional rendition.
2. A literary work or film that is a mix of fact and fiction.

[Blend of FACT and FICTION.]

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Informal group of people operating within an organization and often opposing a larger group. Similar to clique, a faction is formed through voluntary membership by people who share common goals.

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noun

1. A group of individuals united in a common cause: bloc, cartel, coalition, combination, combine, party, ring¹. See group.
2. A state of disagreement and disharmony: clash, conflict, confrontation, contention, difference, difficulty, disaccord, discord, discordance, dissension, dissent, dissentience, dissidence, dissonance, friction, inharmony, schism, strife, variance, war, warfare. See conflict/cooperation.

n

Definition: conflict, strife
Antonyms: agreement, conformity, peace, unity

n

Definition: group sharing a belief or cause
Antonyms: entirety, total, whole

Generally, any political grouping the writer disapproves of. Thus, Madison, in the two most famous numbers of Federalist, nos. 10 and 51, wished to design a set of institutions for the USA that would combat faction, and stipulated that ‘Ambition must be made to counteract ambition’ (no. 51). The extended republic of the United States would minimize the ill effects of faction because ‘A rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union than a particular member of it’ (no. 10). More specifically, an organized group within a political party, especially in a country where they have semi-permanent existence, such as Japan or Italy.

faction, a short‐lived portmanteau word denoting works that present verifiably factual contents in the form of a fictional novel, as in Norman Mailer's The Armies of the Night (1968). Although still sometimes used by journalists, the term suffers from the disadvantage of already meaning something else (i.e. a conspiratorial group within a divided organization).

A group formed to seek some goal within a political party or a government. The term suggests quarrelsome dissent from the course pursued by the party or government majority: “His administration is moderate, but it contains a faction of extremists.”

IN BRIEF: Describes a group within a group acting together for a common purpose.

The degree of factional conflict in student government that year was higher than usual.

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For a list of words related to faction, see:

• Publishing - faction: blend of actual events and people into fictional story
• Schools, Styles, and Forms - faction: Informal. novel or other writing that treats real events and people as if fictional; roman à clef

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See words rhyming with "factional."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Faction.

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - lille gruppe, klike, parti, kværulantisk gruppe

2.
n. - klikevæsen, splittelse, kævleri, strid, partiånd

Nederlands (Dutch)
factie, groepsgeest (m.n. tijdens tweedracht), egoïstische groep

Français (French)
1.
n. - faction, dissension

2.
n. - docudrame

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Fraktion, Parteigeist, Uneinigkeit

2.
n. - Fiktion

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φατρία, κλίκα, παράταξη, (μτφ.) διχόνοια, φαγωμάρα

Italiano (Italian)
fazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - facção (f)

Русский (Russian)
фракция, клика, документальный роман

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - facción, bando, parcialidad

2.
n. - ficción

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fraktion, partikäbbel, sammandraget ord av fact o. fiction, dramadokumentär

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 写实小说

2. 派别, 宗派, 派系之争, 内讧, 小集团

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 寫實小說

2.
n. - 派別, 宗派, 派系之爭, 內訌, 小集團

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 소수그룹, 당파

2.
n. - 파벌다툼

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 派閥, 派閥争い, 内紛, 党中の党, 党派, 党派心

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) زمرة , فصيل , حزب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סיעה, פלג‬
n. - ‮חילוקי דעות‬

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