Fraction or fraction means a part of something that has been cut up or divided; or a part in relation to the whole--
The fraction familiar to most Americans is the quarter, which says "one quarter dollar" on it.
When you multiply a number by a fraction, you get a smaller number.
Fraction is used to mean a small part, in a general sense--
After paying the hospital bill, only a small fraction of their savings remained.
Only a small fraction of the group agreed with him.
Faction or faction means a group of people having ideas that differ from the ideas of a larger group; a group within a group--
Each faction is trying to drown out the other; the noise is deafening.
He belongs to a faction that believes we ought to spend more money on space research.
Faction may mean party politics in general, or political intrigue and deal-making--
"Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire..."
Each member wants to win a gain for its own faction.
Now that you know that, you can say--
"Each faction wants the whole sum, and refuses to settle for a fraction."
Factious or factious tending to faction; or to dividing people from the main group, based on a single issue or set of issues--
That issue is always factious, so let's not bring it up for discussion.
His factious speech divided the house into two opposing camps.
Fractious or fractious means testy or irritable--
The old man is fractious when he doesn't take a nap in the afternoon.
The baby is fractious when his diaper is wet.
Note-- "factitious" means artificial or man-made--
The factitious news report caused a sensation, until it was discovered that the reporter had invented the story.
He wrote a factitious account of the event that many people mistook for the truth.
Note # 2 -- "fraction" is a noun ( thing or idea ), with a singular ( one ) and a plural ( more than one ) form--
The dealer offered him a fraction of what it was worth.
We are studying fractions on school.
Note # 2 -- "faction" is also a noun ( thing or idea ), with a singular ( one ) and a plural ( more than one ) form--
He belongs to a different faction, and we have an argumnent every time we meet.
There are so many factions, no one can keep track of them all.
Words that sound the same when we speak may actually be two different words--which matters when we write them down. Spellcheck cannot help with this--it will show each word and the writer has to choose--to disambiguate them, if you will. I intend to update this daily, with another set of words it is possible to confuse, beginning with the simplest and most important. Questions and comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label factions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label factions. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
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