to part company
/pˈɑːɹt kˈʌmpəni/
phrase
to disagree over something

Examples

to part ways
/pˈɑːɹt wˈeɪz/
phrase
to disagree over something
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Examples

1Either Senator Manchin can be the one who aids and abets voter suppression, or Senator Manchin, like Lyndon Baines Johnson before him, can be the one who decides to part ways with those who would suppress the vote.
2So once you've decided to part ways with your device, you could throw it in a box like I used to do.
3As they prepare to part ways, the twins wonder what will happen when they’re reunited.
4With no bright future in Uber, the company he helped grow into a worldwide business, Kalanick decided to part ways in 2019.
5When Romeo and Juliet's worlds collide, will they stick together and live happily ever after, or will they tragically part ways after their brief encounter?
to pick a fight / quarrel (with sb / )
/pˈɪk ɐ fˈaɪt kwˈɔːɹəl wɪð ˌɛsbˈiː/
phrase
to intentionally start an argument or fight
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Examples

1European institutions are not afraid to pick a fight with companies such as Microsoft, Apple or Facebook about fair competition, tax evasion or data protection.
2Trump wasn't content to pick a fight with just one professional SPORT.
3In this case, it could simply be that Hooke picked a fight with the wrong guy.
4That's Kevin Cirilli, chief Washington correspondent for Bloomberg television Both are ambitious, driven, and not afraid to pick a fight, even if it will lead to controversy, and scandal
5It was very clear to us, in the summer leading up to August of 2008, that the Russians were prepared to pick a fight.
polarity
/poʊˈɫɛɹəti/
noun
the opposition between two opinions, tendencies, etc.
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Examples

1Sexual attraction comes from polarity.
2Polarity is absolutely critical to the UK market.
3But as of now, this polarity serves our expansion.
4Polarity implies attraction.
5Genuine authenticity involves both polarities.
polarization
/ˌpoʊɫɝəˈzeɪʃən/, /ˌpoʊɫɝɪˈzeɪʃən/
noun
a split between two opposing groups
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Examples

1This scanner measures polarization in red.
2Polarization is like light's orientation.
3Small disturbances can change photon polarization.
4We create polarization.
5So polarization is when charge separates.
to polarize
/ˈpoʊɫɝˌaɪz/
verb
to be divided into two opposing groups
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Examples

1The scattering of light in the atmosphere or under water can also partially polarize light.
2Great products, great services, great innovation polarizes people.
3Great products polarize people.
4The information age can polarize.
5- Polarized,
to protest
/ˈpɹoʊˌtɛst/, /pɹəˈtɛst/
verb
to express opposition or disapproval either with words or in action, particularly in public
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Examples

1These people were protesting corruption in the government and high taxation.
2Close to 150 demonstrators protested the mask mandate.
3Thousands protested mandatory masking measures.
4Some gladiators protested their poor treatment.
5Unsurprisingly, her family protested her pole dancing adventure.
protest
/ˈpɹoʊˌtɛst/, /pɹəˈtɛst/
noun
strong objection to or disapproval of something; actions or words that display this
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Examples

1These people were protesting corruption in the government and high taxation.
2Close to 150 demonstrators protested the mask mandate.
3Thousands protested mandatory masking measures.
4Some gladiators protested their poor treatment.
5Unsurprisingly, her family protested her pole dancing adventure.
provocation
/ˌpɹɑvəˈkeɪʃən/
noun
a statement or action that causes anger or is intended to make someone upset or angry
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Examples

1Here's another provocation.
2Nevertheless, Trotsky's book is a provocation.
3And the provocation was genius.
4Provocation from Moscow was nothing new for the West.
5However, on the other side, provocation is a defense.
provocative
/pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪv/
adjective
causing anger or argument, particularly intentionally
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Examples

1President Putin's comments today were quite provocative.
2The very idea of a male ballerina was provocative.
3You’re provocative.
4The dominant form is provocative.
5You've got provocative questions.
provocatively
/pɹoʊˈvɑkətɪvɫi/
adverb
in a manner that causes anger or argument, particularly intentionally
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Examples

1Knowing this, Ilse Koch began dressing provocatively on purpose.
2Because I provocatively said at the outset, I agree with Schrodinger, that we need a new type of physical law.
3He also insists, however, cannily and provocatively on the mediated quality of his words.
4And he does it extremely provocatively.
5She flirts provocatively.
to provoke
/pɹəˈvoʊk/
verb
to intentionally annoy someone so that they become angry
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Examples

1Initially, the high interest rates definitely provoked a recession in 1981 and 1982.
2This statement likely provokes fear among some.
3To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the salesman.
4The announcement has provoked an extraordinary reaction from Boris Johnson's opponents.
5This subject provokes so much confusion.
pugnacious
/pəɡˈnæʃɪs/
adjective
eager to start a fight or argument
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Examples

1And he is pugnacious on social media.
2WILLIAM BURNS - I really do think it was a pugnacious exclamation point on what you could see building over the couple of years before that, and particularly since the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the Rose Revolution in Georgia.
3He could play this three-pronged pact with his nation without resorting too much to pugnacious statements on the global scene.
4Certainly not the most like pugnacious or ready to fight or anything like that.
5Moore is a combative and pugnacious poet.
pugnaciously
/pʌɡnˈeɪʃəsli/
adverb
in a way that displays eagerness to start a fight or argument
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Examples

1She boldly, unblinkingly, even pugnaciously, wrathfully even, when her bottle was empty.
pugnacity
/pʌɡnˈæsɪɾi/
noun
eagerness to start a fight or argument

Examples

to quarrel
/ˈkwɔɹəɫ/
verb
to have a serious argument
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Examples

1An ant has no quarrel with a boot.
2[upbeat music] - Your quarrel is with my daughter, Rosamind, not me.
3They quarrel.
4Yet almost straight away, new quarrels stirred up.
5They were quarreling.
quarrel
/ˈkwɔɹəɫ/
noun
a serious argument, usually between people who know each other well
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Examples

1An ant has no quarrel with a boot.
2[upbeat music] - Your quarrel is with my daughter, Rosamind, not me.
3They quarrel.
4Yet almost straight away, new quarrels stirred up.
5They were quarreling.
quarrelsome
/ˈkwɔɹəɫsəm/
adjective
arguing a lot
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Examples

1For instance, travelers discovered that people across Asia didn’t seem as quarrelsome as Europeans. 12.
2But Comte had a quarrelsome nature and fell out with Saint-Simon, failed to get a university post, and for the rest of his life, maintained a precarious existence writing dense, often unreadable, works about the reform of humanity.
3The bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
4He was gesturing in a quarrelsome, agitated manner with another man.
5You might be quarrelsome.
to quibble
/ˈkwɪbəɫ/
verb
to argue over unimportant things or to complain about them
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Examples

1Shaq's main quibble had shifted.
2I've no patience for your quibbles.
3Other quibbles, notifications don't really have enough space to spread out.
4I do have legitimate quibbles with it.
5So we want my quibble over the over the reserves
quibble
/ˈkwɪbəɫ/
noun
a minor criticism or complaint about something that is not important
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Examples

1Shaq's main quibble had shifted.
2I've no patience for your quibbles.
3Other quibbles, notifications don't really have enough space to spread out.
4I do have legitimate quibbles with it.
5So we want my quibble over the over the reserves
rift
/ˈɹɪft/
noun
an end to a friendly relationship between people or organizations caused by a serious disagreement
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Examples

1Both operations widened the rift between the Sikh minority and the rest of the country.
2But one appearance caused a rift with the administration.
3The rift with her older daughter remains.
4The Touch controllers use a band of LEDs and an external tracking camera that the oculus rift uses.
5Okay everyone, the rift is stable.
riven
/ˈɹɪvən/
adjective
(of a group of people) divided by disagreements, particularly violently
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Examples

1And he's left our nation riven, basically broken up into warring political tribes.
2'When he'd finished, there stood pine trees, scaly and riven, crags steep and precipitous, clear water and turbulent clouds.
3I think that the constantly riven panels make the public think, well, the law is not one thing.
4But in a world riven by inequality and injustice, how much of a priority is the return of stolen art?
5I looked into the face of her son sitting next to her, and his face was just riven with grief and confusion.
row
/ˈɹoʊ/
noun
a noisy bitter argument between countries, organizations, people, etc.
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Examples

1- That really rows my boat.
2But these special Category rows here.
3Install row one on the starting line.
4Row, rowed.
5Row, rowed.
ruckus
/ˈɹəkəs/
noun
a noisy argument or activity
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Examples

1So that caused a ruckus.
2Somebody brought the ruckus over there.
3They are bringing the ruckus.
4-Caused a huge ruckus.
5Luckily, the Lech family's boy hears the ruckus in the garage.
ructions
/ɹˈʌkʃənz/
noun
angry arguments or complaints

Examples

run-in
/ɹˈʌnˈɪn/
noun
a fight or argument, particularly with someone with authority
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Examples

1Do you have run-ins with paramilitaries?
2U.S. troops have had run-ins with Assad’s forces as well as groups backed by Russia and Iran.
3Human DNA is full of battle scars from our speciespast run-ins with parasites.
4But the character did have some run-ins with other Disney favorites.
5She had run-ins with the tabloids early on, due to some tough times for her family.
scene
/ˈsin/
noun
a heated argument, particularly in public
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Examples

1You create scenes.
2Nother cut scene.
3Catching Fire deleted scene?
4Scene four take one.
5Scene change.
schism
/ˈskɪzəm/
noun
a division between a group of people caused by their disagreement over beliefs or views
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Examples

1We now have a major schism between two tribes, magical thinkers and evidence seekers.
2These two factions share many spiritual beliefs and religious practices, as their schism was political in nature.
3These two factions share many spiritual beliefs and religious practices, as their schism was political in nature.
4With government, with Congress, and we live in an age of cynicism, September schism is good.
5But there's also a schism in the Johnson clan.
scrap
/ˈskɹæp/
noun
a brief quarrel or fight
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Examples

1My affinity is scrap.
2All right, scrap my ideas.
3The pride has been living off scraps.
4A sneaky approach only yields scraps.
5Rival males scrap over patches of territory.
set-to
/sˈɛttuː/
noun
a minor argument or fight
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Examples

1Anyway they had this set-to and she kept accusing him and other historians of being "revisionist."
shit stirrer
/ʃˈɪt stˈɜːɹə/
noun
someone who tries to aggravate an argument or enjoys doing so

Examples

shitstorm
/ˈʃɪtˌstɔɹm/
noun
a situation of violent disagreement
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Examples

1I didn't mean to cause a shitstorm.
2Who got you out of that shitstorm in the Ukraine?
3Now obviously it was a nice gesture and this mother tried to do the best she could yet she got a shitstorm of comments that was wholly unjustified.
shot
/ˈʃɑt/
noun
a remark that is critical
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Examples

1Shots fired.
2Shots fired!
3Ballots, sling shotted into volcanoes.
4Shots rang off. -
5Shots fired.
shouting match
/ʃˈaʊɾɪŋ mˈætʃ/
noun
a loud argument
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Examples

1One shouting match got so heated that Gates relieved Arnold of command although, for an unclear reason, the latter remained in camp.
2Pittsburgh Assistant Coach Tony Granato and Philly's Head Coach Peter Laviolette got in a shouting match as Pierre McGuire narrated from below.
3So, this minor incident, what's essentially a shouting match and a fight, in a small town in Alsace has huge implications.
4They've had a shouting match across the aisles.
5So, we'd be stuck in a perpetual shouting match.
showdown
/ˈʃoʊˌdaʊn/
noun
a fight, test, or argument that will resolve a prolonged disagreement
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Examples

1The showdown is over.
2Then the fifth round is the showdown.
3The showdown was imminent.
4The showdown was imminent.
5A showdown is a confrontation or dispute.
shrewish
/ʃɹˈuːɪʃ/
adjective
(of a woman) aggressive, unpleasant, and always arguing
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Examples

1She's the shrewish difficult older sister.
side
/ˈsaɪd/
noun
one of the people or groups involved in an argument, contest, etc.
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Examples

1A young person was standing on the other side of the pond.
2Now switch sides.
3Quickly switch sides.
4Now switch sides.
5And then last, the bottom left side.
skirmish
/ˈskɝmɪʃ/
noun
a short argument, particularly between political rivals
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Examples

1On several occasions portions of Pershing’s army skirmished with Villa and his tiny band.
2Where skirmishes broke out occasionally.
3You have pretty much skirmishes with groups around the country.
4Our artillery had a skirmish last night, in a swamp in the front.
5Often a skirmish in one seemingly unimportant area would have long term strategic consequences.
to skirmish
/ˈskɝmɪʃ/
verb
to engage in a short argument
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Examples

1On several occasions portions of Pershing’s army skirmished with Villa and his tiny band.
2Where skirmishes broke out occasionally.
3You have pretty much skirmishes with groups around the country.
4Our artillery had a skirmish last night, in a swamp in the front.
5Often a skirmish in one seemingly unimportant area would have long term strategic consequences.
slugfest
/ˈsɫəɡˌfɛst/
noun
an argument in which people talk to each other in an offensive way
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Examples

1He won a lot more often than he lost, and while many of these were brief scuffles that didn't result in any major blows landed, others were bare-knuckled slugfests.
someone started it
/sˈʌmwʌn stˈɑːɹɾᵻd ɪt/
phrase
used to say who is at fault for causing an argument or fight

Examples

to spar
/ˈspɑɹ/
verb
to argue with someone in a pleasant way
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Examples

1More SPARS mean more men on ships.
2Not even really sparring.
3They spar.
4Sparring for dominance.
5They were sparring.
to spark up
/spˈɑːɹk ˈʌp/
verb
to start a friendship, conversation, quarrel, etc.

Examples

sparring partner
/spˈɑːɹɪŋ pˈɑːɹtnɚ/
noun
someone with whom one regularly has friendly arguments
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Examples

1David Gergen was his first sparring partner, sharing the desk with Mark for six years.
2David Gergen was his first sparring partner, sharing the desk with Mark for six years.
3It was really fun to be your sparring partner.
4So he's actually one of my sparring partners on this, because I actually think I disagree on both points.
5But he's soon off in search of more sparring partners.
spat
/ˈspæt/
noun
a short quarrel about a matter that is unimportant
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Examples

1He's chewing tobacco, juicy, spat on my shirt.
2The guy in the bed next to mine spat mouthfuls onto the floor all night.
3Trevor put a sil spat in his mouth?
4Spats means stories about fights and arguments.
5Seven, do not wear spats with evening wear.
split
/ˈspɫɪt/
noun
separation between a group of people caused by disagreement
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Examples

1Most patterns split the circle into four, five or six equal sections.
2Split the difference.
3- Split the difference.
4So it was an amicable split.
5Scissors to split paper, food, and, of course, Bonsai trees.
to split
/ˈspɫɪt/
verb
to cause a group of people to be divided into smaller groups because of having different opinions or views
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Examples

1Most patterns split the circle into four, five or six equal sections.
2Split the difference.
3- Split the difference.
4So it was an amicable split.
5Scissors to split paper, food, and, of course, Bonsai trees.
squabble
/ˈskwɑbəɫ/
noun
a noisy argument over an unimportant matter
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Examples

1A squabble with Detective Brett Hankison ensues, and already the team seems on edge.
2Their problems started with a small squabble between friends.
3Sometimes hermit crabs will squabble over a particularly desirable abode.
4Not squabbling too much.
5And they're constantly squabbling over the prize.
to squabble
/ˈskwɑbəɫ/
verb
to noisily argue over an unimportant thing
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Examples

1A squabble with Detective Brett Hankison ensues, and already the team seems on edge.
2Their problems started with a small squabble between friends.
3Sometimes hermit crabs will squabble over a particularly desirable abode.
4Not squabbling too much.
5And they're constantly squabbling over the prize.

Great!

You've reviewed all the words in this lesson!