Strife

How to spell strife

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce strife

What does strife mean?

1. nounBitter or angry disagreement and conflict between people or groups.

Strife in a sentence

• The merger caused months of internal strife between the two departments.

• Years of political strife left the country exhausted and divided.

Where does strife come from?

Language of origin: French

Strife came into Middle English in the 1200s from the Old French word estrif, which meant a quarrel, a contest, or a dispute. That noun was paired with the verb estriver, 'to compete or struggle hard', the same source that gives us the English verb 'strive'. The deeper roots are probably Germanic, tied to ideas of striving and vigorous effort rather than calm disagreement, which is why strife still carries a sense of bitter, energetic conflict. Over the centuries the meaning narrowed toward open hostility and discord between people or groups. A useful memory hook is the link to 'strive': both share the str- beginning and the long 'i', so strife is the trouble that comes when people strive against one another.

How the word is built

• strife (a single root noun, related to the verb 'strive'; from Old French estrif 'quarrel, contest')