infighting

noun

in·​fight·​ing ˈin-ˌfī-tiŋ 

1

: prolonged and often bitter dissension or rivalry among members of a group or organization

bureaucratic infighting

2

: rough-and-tumble fighting

3

: fighting or boxing at close quarters

infight

ˈin-ˌfīt 

intransitive verb

infighter

ˈin-ˌfī-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• conflict
• disaccord
• discord
• discordance
• discordancy
• disharmony
• dissension
• dissention
• dissent
• dissidence
• dissonance
• disunion
• disunity
• division
• friction
• inharmony
• schism
• strife
• variance
• war
• warfare

Examples of infighting in a Sentence

continued infighting has just completely robbed that political action committee of its effectiveness

Recent Examples on the Web

Some observers suggested parallels to the 1940s, when Palestinian infighting left them unprepared for the 1947 U.N. partition of Palestine and the subsequent war. —Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Feb. 2025

But most of those efforts were haphazard, devolved into infighting among Chicanosauruses and didn’t develop into a full-fledged movement. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2025

Read more: • Democratic infighting is rising as Trump takes center stage. —Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 22 Jan. 2025

Democrats are avoiding infighting in the DNC chair race — so far. —Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 13 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1816, in the meaning defined at sense 3