altercational‧ter‧ca‧tion /ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃən $ ˌɒːltər-/ noun [countable] 
Word Origin
They became involved in an altercation.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINaltercation
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 French, Latin altercatio, from altercari ‘to quarrel’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- There was a brief altercation and someone called the police.
- And perhaps most interestingly, can MacLean stay away from the physical altercations that have popped up recently?
- He was engaged in some sort of altercation with the driver.
- She would run and hide as her parents' altercations so often got out of hand with plates crashing and books thrown.
- The altercation concluded with Bugel tossing Brown from the session.
- The frustration he caused her was the keynote of every one-sided altercation.
- Well, the only altercation I remember having with him was when I was very little, five or six.
THESAURUSwhen people hit or attack each other► fight
formal a short noisy argument: a situation in which people hit or attack each other because of an argument, or as a sport: · He had a fight with an older boy.· the famous fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman
► battle a fight between opposing armies or groups of people: · The English king was killed at the Battle of Hastings.· a battle between two rival gangs
► scuffle a short fight that is not very violent: · There was a short scuffle with the police, but no arrests were made.
► punch-up British English informal a fight in which people hit each other because of an argument: · The game turned into a punch-up.
► brawl a noisy fight between a group of people: · He was hurt in a drunken brawl.
► altercation formal a short noisy argument or fight, especially one that is not serious: · There was a brief altercation and someone called the police.
► riot a fight involving a large number of people, especially people who are protesting about something: · The book provoked riots all over Europe.
Longman Language Activatora fight► fight · There was a massive fight after school yesterday.in a fight · Three of his ribs were broken in a fight.get into a fight · He had been at the pub for several hours before getting into a fight with another man.a fight breaks out · A couple of fights broke out near the stadium after the game.be in a fight · How did you get that black eye? Were you in a fight?
► punch-up British informal a fight: · He ended up in jail after a punch-up with a bloke in the pub.get into a punch-up: · Some drunks began calling us names and we ended up getting into a punch-up.
► brawl a fight between a group of people in a public place, especially when they are drunk: · No one was injured in the brawl, which police quickly stopped.· He got his face cut in a brawl outside a nightclub.
► scuffle a short fight that is not very violent and which usually only involves people pushing each other: · There was a brief scuffle as the crowd left the football ground.a scuffle breaks out (=starts suddenly): · Rioters threw stones at the police and a few scuffles broke out.
► scrap a short fight, especially between children: · Scraps in the playground are a pretty frequent occurrence.have a scrap: · It's normal for brothers and sisters to have a few scraps. It's part of growing up.
► altercation formal a short noisy argument or fight, especially one that is not serious: · There was a brief altercation and someone called the police.
They became involved in an altercation.