faction

1 of 2

noun

fac·​tion ˈfak-shən 

1

: a party or group (as within a government) that is often contentious or self-seeking : clique

The committee soon split into factions.

2

: party spirit especially when marked by dissension

faction, or the irreconcilable conflict of parties

—Ernest Barker

factional

ˈfak-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

factionalism

ˈfak-sh(ə-)nə-ˌli-zəm 

noun

factionally

ˈfak-sh(ə-)nəl-ē 

adverb

-faction

2 of 2

noun combining form

: making : -fication

petrifaction

Synonyms

Noun

• bloc
• block
• body
• coalition
• party
• sect
• set
• side
• wing

Examples of faction in a Sentence

Noun

The committee soon split into factions.

several factions within the environmental movement have joined forces to save this wilderness area

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Syrian army is still being cobbled from various armed factions and is still a work in progress. —Greg Myre, NPR, 12 Feb. 2025

Where Brits feel like suspicious maniacs—one of the most rewarding things about UK Traits is seeing relatively clever people so certain in their wrongness—Americans are lambs to the slaughter, bound up in factions blind to internal threats. —Raven Smith, Vogue, 12 Feb. 2025

But the world should not look to NGOs to permanently replace the role of the government, whatever ideological disagreements leaders might have with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other armed factions. —Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025

The Democratic party is not without faults in its left, right and center factions. —Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French faccion, borrowed from Latin factiōn-, factiō "act of making, social set, band, group, self-seeking political group," from facere "to make, bring about, place, classify" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at fact

Note: A doublet of faction is fashion entry 1, from the Gallo-Romance outcome of Latin factiō, which maintains only the meaning "act of making," sparsely attested outside of early Latin except in legal use.

Noun combining form

borrowed from Latin -factiōn-, -factiō (as in satisfactiōn-, satisfactiō satisfaction)

First Known Use

Noun

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

faction

noun

fac·​tion ˈfak-shən 

: a group acting together within a larger body (as a government) : clique

factional

-shnəl 

-shən-ᵊl

adjective

factionalism

-ˌiz-əm 

noun