[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

altercation \al`terca"tion\ ?; 277, n. f. altercation, fr.
   l. altercatio.
   warm contention in words; dispute carried on with heat or
   anger; controversy; wrangle; wordy contest. "stormy
   altercations." --macaulay.
   1913 webster

   syn: altercation, dispute, wrangle.

   usage: the term dispute is in most cases, but not
          necessarily, applied to a verbal contest; as, a
          dispute on the lawfulness of war. an altercation is an
          angry dispute between two parties, involving an
          interchange of severe language. a wrangle is a
          confused and noisy altercation.
          1913 webster

                their whole life was little else than a
                perpetual wrangling and altercation. --hakewill.
          1913 webster
see also:
altercation dispute wrangle 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

altercation
     n : noisy quarrel syn: affray, fracas
see also:
affray fracas 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

58 moby thesaurus words for "altercation":
   kilkenny cats, argument, bicker, bickering, blood feud, brawl,
   broil, cat-and-dog life, combat, conflict, contention,
   contentiousness, contest, contestation, controversy,
   cut and thrust, debate, disputation, dispute, donnybrook,
   donnybrook fair, embroilment, enmity, falling-out, feud, fight,
   fighting, fliting, fracas, fuss, hostility, imbroglio, litigation,
   logomachy, open quarrel, paper war, polemic, quarrel, quarreling,
   quarrelsomeness, scrapping, sharp words, slanging match, snarl,
   spat, squabble, squabbling, strife, struggle, tiff, tussle,
   vendetta, war, war of words, warfare, words, wrangle, wrangling

Altercation >> A Words
Altercation, definition of term: Altercation
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