altercation
al·ter·cat·ion/ˌɔltɚˈkeɪʃən/noun
altercation is spelled A-L-T-E-R-C-A-T-I-O-N: 11 letters and 4 syllables (al·ter·cat·ion). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, altercation means “An angry or heated dispute” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of altercation is altercations.
How many letters and syllables are in altercation?
| Letters | 11: A-L-T-E-R-C-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: al·ter·cat·ion |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is altercation?
Altercation appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce altercation?
- UK /ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/
- UK /ˌɒl-/
- US /ˌɔltɚˈkeɪʃən/
Altercation has 4 syllables, split al·ter·cat·ion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-altercation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with altercation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as altercation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of altercation
- altercations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does altercation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An angry or heated dispute.
to get into an altercation over (something)
- 2
An act of posing questions to, and obtaining answers from, a witness in a court of law.
- 3
Angry or heated disputation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Altercation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense countable: angry or heated dispute:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | altercation, dispute, empoignade |
| German | Auseinandersetzung, heftige Auseinandersetzung, Disput, Kontroverse, Streit |
| Portuguese | altercação, briga, disputa, argumento, polêmica |
| Spanish | altercado, altercación, alteración, rifirrafe |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does altercation come from?
Borrowed from Latin altercātiō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).