fractious Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite stubbornly resistant to authority or control
    refractory; recalcitrant.
    • a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness
    • a refractory child
  2. adjective satellite easily irritated or annoyed
    peckish; nettlesome; testy; tetchy; petulant; cranky; techy; irritable; scratchy; pettish; peevish.
    • an incorrigibly fractious young man
    • not the least nettlesome of his countrymen
  3. adjective satellite unpredictably difficult in operation; likely to be troublesome
    • rockets were much too fractious to be tested near thickly populated areas
    • fractious components of a communication system

WordNet

Frac"tious adjective
Etymology
Cf. Prov. E. frack forward, eager, E. freak, fridge; or Prov. E. fratch to squabble, quarrel.
Definitions
  1. Apt to break out into a passion; apt to scold; cross; snappish; ugly; unruly; as, a fractious man; a fractious horse. Syn. -- Snappish; peevish; waspish; cross; irritable; perverse; pettish. -- Frac"tious*ly, v. -- Frac"tious*ness, n.

Webster 1913