Altercated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have been involved in a dispute marked by heated exchanges and strong feelings between opposing parties
2. Was part of an intense verbal disagreement between people with conflicting views
3. Took part in a sharp exchange of words that indicated serious conflict

Etymology: Latin "altercari" meant to dispute or argue back and forth, and it grew from "alter," meaning "the other (of two)." The root image is two parties facing each other, each taking the opposite side, so a quarrel was built into the word from the start. English borrowed the verb directly from Latin "altercor," the deponent form of "altercari," and the "-ate" ending follows the pattern of many verbs adapted from Latin past participles. Here "altercated" is simply the past form of "altercate," so the word carries the same sense of two sides locked in a heated exchange. Its shape, with "alter" buried inside, is a quiet reminder that the earliest arguments were literally a matter of one person against the other.

Synonyms: argued, quarreled, disputed, debated, contended

Antonyms: reconciled, settled, agreed, accepted, complied