faction

Word family

• factional
  adjectiveC1
• factionalism
  nounC1
• factionalist
  nounC2
• factious
  adjectiveC2
• factiously
  adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Faction, splinter group, wing, clique, and caucus all describe smaller groups inside a larger organization. Faction is the most general of these words and often implies that the subgroup's views clash with the mainstream direction of the main body. A splinter group has physically or formally broken away from the parent organization, usually over a deep ideological disagreement. Wing refers to a broad ideological segment within a party — such as the left wing or right wing — and carries a more neutral, descriptive tone than faction. Clique has a distinctly negative flavor, suggesting a small, exclusive circle that pursues power or personal gain at others' expense. Caucus is a largely neutral American English term for a subgroup within a political party that meets to coordinate strategy or policy. For example, 'The liberal wing of the party supported the bill, but a small faction threatened to block it, while the leader's inner clique controlled all the key appointments.'

Common collocations

Etymology

Faction comes from Latin 'factio' (a making, doing, or party), itself derived from the verb 'facere' (to make or do). It passed into English through Old French 'faction' during the 15th century. The original meaning was simply 'a making or doing', but by the 16th century it had shifted to refer to a political party or group, and soon after acquired the negative sense of self-serving dissension within a larger body. The combining form -fication shares this same Latin root 'facere', reaching English via French '-fication' from Latin '-ficatio'.