ALTERCATION

altercation. A vehement dispute; a noisy argument.

“altercation.  The  traditional  view  is that  this  word  refers to ‘a  noisy  brawl  or  dispute,’  not

rising  to  the  seriousness  of  physical  violence…. But in  AmE,  the  word  now  often  denotes some

type  of  scuffling  or  fighting,  especially  in  police  jargon.”  Bryan  A.  Garner,  A  Dictionary  of

Modern American Usage 34 (1998). [Blacks Law 8th]