# quarrel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkwɒɹ(ə)l/ · frequency rank #19,427

## Definitions
1. A dispute or heated argument (especially one that is verbal).
2. Often preceded by a form of to have: a basis or ground of dispute or objection; a complaint; also, a feeling or situation of ill will and unhappiness caused by this.
3. A propensity to quarrel; quarrelsomeness.

## Etymology
From Middle English querele (“altercation, dispute; argument, debate; armed combat; trial by combat; basis for dispute, complaint; claim, legal suit; a lament; illness”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman querele [and other forms] and Middle French querele, querelle (“altercation, dispute; basis for dispute; side in a dispute; complaint; accusation; legal suit; lament; problem”) (modern French querelle), and from their etymon Latin querēla, querella (“dispute; argument; complaint, grievance; legal complaint; lament; illness”), from querī + -ēla, -ella (suffix forming nouns). querī (“to complain; to bewail, lament; to be indignant”) comes from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwes- (“to puff; to sigh”).

## Easily confused with
- **quarry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quarrel-vs-quarry)
- **quarter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quarrel-vs-quarter)
- **quartet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quarrel-vs-quartet)

## Common misspellings (8)
`qaurrel`, `qquarrel`, `quarel`, `quarerl`, `quarrell`, `quarrle`, `qurarel`, `uqarrel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/quarrel