litigious

adjective

li·​ti·​gious lə-ˈti-jəs 

li-

1

a

: disputatious, contentious

in a litigious mood

b

: prone to engage in lawsuits

an increasingly litigious society

2

: subject to litigation

not known to be litigious when purchased

—James Muirhead

3

: of, relating to, or marked by litigation

a litigious situation

litigiously adverb

litigiousness noun

Examples of litigious in a Sentence

a very litigious group of people

this litigious age in which we live

Recent Examples on the Web

Drake has been litigious in the fallout from the beef, filing suit against Universal Music Group. —Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 3 Mar. 2025

In today’s litigious society, safeguarding your wealth has never been more important. —Andre Pennington, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025

And under Smith's leadership, Blue was litigious, slow, and unproductive. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2025

The feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has been years in the making, litigious, and above all else, personal. —William Gavin, Quartz, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin litigiosus, from litigium dispute, from litigare

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for litigious

• irreligious
• nonreligious
• interreligious
• prestigious
• prodigious
• religious

Legal Definition

litigious

adjective

li·​ti·​gious li-ˈti-jəs 

1

: prone to engage in lawsuits or legal maneuvers especially to an excessive degree

a litigious pro se prisoner … filed fifty-one cases

—In re Oliver, 682 F.2d 443 (1982)

2

: subject to litigation

acquired only a possible litigious claim

—Wells v. Joseph, 95 So. 2d 843 (1957)

3

: of, relating to, or marked by litigation

litigiously adverb

litigiousness noun