quarrel implies heated verbal contention, stressing strained or severed relations which may persist beyond the contention.
a quarrel nearly destroyed the relationship
wrangle suggests undignified and often futile disputation with a noisy insistence on differing opinions.
wrangle interminably about small issues
altercation implies fighting with words as the chief weapon, although it may also connote blows.
a loud public altercation
squabble stresses childish and unseemly dispute over petty matters, but it need not imply bitterness or anger.
a brief squabble over what to do next
Example Sentences
Verb They were wrangling over money. He made a living wrangling horses. Noun They had a bitter wrangle over custody of their children. there was a bit of a wrangle over how much money to give the high school for its sports programs
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The president’s inability to break through either of those dynamics was captured in stark relief last week when Mr. Biden made a failed, last-ditch effort to wrangle votes for Senate rules changes on voting rights.New York Times, 20 Jan. 2022 Hays County is ramping up efforts to wrangle a worrying increase in fentanyl abuse following the overdose deaths of three Hays Consolidated Independent School District students in the last month. Ricardo Delgado, San Antonio Express-News, 31 Aug. 2022 Space comprises a web of interdependent technologies that no single company can wrangle.Fortune, 4 Aug. 2022 In the first, Senator Lindsey Graham will wrangle with Senator Bernie Sanders, in a one-hour policy debate that will subsequently appear in edited form on Fox News Channel a few days later. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 13 June 2022 The location is close enough to Seattle to tap into engineering talent from local aerospace behemoth Boeing, but far enough from SeaTac not to have to wrangle for airspace. Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2022 One 14-year-old girl, already a mother of twins, talked to me while trying to wrangle her two boys. Phoebe Gates, Vogue, 1 July 2022 The case, which could deal Kansas a postseason ban and Self a significant suspension, remains unresolved as the school and the NCAA wrangle over procedural issues. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2022 The report Thursday from the Senate Finance Committee comes as Democrats continue to wrangle over a broader rethink of the laws governing the taxes companies pay on income generated in the United States and abroad. Tony Romm, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022
Noun
Instead, as Russia tightens the taps, coal plants are being refired across Europe, and nuclear energy is getting a second look as many on the continent wrangle over whether to sacrifice their sacred cows.New York Times, 5 Aug. 2022 The wrangle escalated as Big City Coffee shut down the campus branch, and other student government leaders impeached Cantu. Daniel Golden, ProPublica, 4 July 2022 Well, there are actually three insurance companies involved, and maybe a fourth yet to be drawn into what has become, for Enriquez, a disheartening wrangle.BostonGlobe.com, 3 Oct. 2021 The legal wrangle revolved around a 1988 contract signed by Lydon, Jones and Cook that said licenses for the music could be granted by agreement from the majority of the band. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 23 Aug. 2021 There’s a yearly wrangle as Congress, the Pentagon and the administration hammer out military priorities and funding.al, 2 Aug. 2021 To some, the wrangle is emblematic of a larger rivalry between Italy’s regions, with the south, which includes Naples, complaining that again it is being eclipsed by the powerful north. Cecilia Butini, WSJ, 21 Apr. 2021 But Suez has been opposed from the beginning and a legal wrangle has ensued. Joshua Kirby, WSJ, 27 Nov. 2020 President Trump claimed in the early hours of Wednesday morning that his opponents were trying to cheat him of election victory, setting the scene for a bitter wrangle as votes were still being counted. Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English; akin to Old High German ringan to struggle — more at wring