What does strife mean?
Word: Strife
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Strife means angry disagreement or quarrelling between people or groups.
Synonyms: conflict, quarrelling, discord, trouble
Antonyms: peace
How do you spell strife?
Syllables: strife
Tricky part: The e at the end is silent. Leave it off and you write strif, which would sound like sniff.
Watch out for: strif, striffe
Memory tip: End strife with its silent e, the way a full stop ends a quarrel.
Strife in a sentence
Example 1: Years of strife between the two villages ended when they agreed to share the well.
Example 2: The new rules caused strife among the players of the team.
Example 3: Dadu says a family can survive hard times, but not constant strife.
Fun Fact
Strife came into English from Old French estrif, which meant a quarrel or a contest.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Probe
One word in the sentence is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word:
After weeks of stryfe over the shared garden, the two neighbours agreed to plant it together.
a) a piece of land where flowers or vegetables are grown
b) bad feeling and arguing that will not settle
c) said yes to an idea or plan
d) people who live next door to you
Show answer
b) bad feeling and arguing that will not settle. Strife is the misspelt word; its long i sound is written with an i, not a y.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
When two teams keep quarrelling and cannot agree on anything, there is ___ between them.
a) leisure
b) patience
c) courage
d) strife
Show answer
d) strife. Leisure is free time, courage is bravery and patience is calm waiting; constant quarrelling is strife.
Word Tally
Score 2 marks for each misspelt word. What is the total score?
strife, harmony, dispute, argueing, peace, rivalery
a) 2
b) 6
c) 8
d) 4
Show answer
d) 4. Arguing drops the e of argue, and rivalry has no e before the r, so two words are wrong: 2 x 2 = 4.
Sound Check
Which of the following words rhymes with strife?
a) strike
b) staff
c) life
d) stiff
Show answer
c) life. Life has the same long i and f sound at the end; stiff and staff have short vowels and strike ends in k.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is most likely to end strife between two friends?
a) a week of silence
b) an honest, calm talk
c) a louder argument
d) blaming each other
Show answer
b) an honest, calm talk
2. A house full of strife is one where people ___.
a) keep arguing
b) sleep early
c) cook a lot
d) sing together
Show answer
a) keep arguing
