faction
Other forms: factions
Fractions are smaller parts of whole numbers: one-quarter, one-tenth, one-half, and a faction is a smaller portion of a larger group that breaks away from it. A faction might take a fraction of the people from a large group and start a new group.
The Latin source of the word faction means to "do" or "make," though a faction can seem to be a taking away or un-doing. Politics is one area where faction gets a lot of use, because a political party often starts with a large group but has some members who disagree with a belief or direction. These members separate from the larger party and become a faction of their own, with many of the same beliefs as the original group but with a few new differences, too.
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a dissenting cliquesynonyms: secttypes:splinter groupa faction or sect that has broken away from its parent organizationleft, left wingthose who support varying degrees of social or political or economic change designed to promote the public welfareright, right wingthose who support political or social or economic conservatism; those who believe that things are better left unchangedold guarda faction that is unwilling to accept new ideaspro-choice factionthose who argue that the decision to have an induced abortion should be made by the motherpro-life factionthose who argue that induced abortion is killing and should be prohibitedreligious rightUnited States political faction that advocates social and political conservatism, school prayer, and federal aid for religious groups and schoolshard rightthe extreme right wing
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a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue
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conflict between members of the same organization (usually concealed from outsiders)synonyms: in-fighting
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Vocabulary lists containing faction
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