本文经授权转载自微信公众号：田间小站
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外刊例句
- Mr Cohn is often said to lead a “globalist” faction within the White House, against protectionists like Mr Navarro and Steve Bannon, another adviser.
科恩常被视为在白宫内领导着一个“全球主义”的小派系，与纳瓦罗以及另一位经济顾问史蒂夫·班农等贸易保护主义者针锋相对。
——《经济学人》 - Towns and tribes across the country are choosing sides, in places flying the flags of rival factions, sometimes including the black banners of Islamist extremists.
利比亚各大城镇和部落在选边站队，许多地方同时飞扬着敌对派系的旗帜，有时还打着伊斯兰主义极端分子的黑旗。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[noun] a small organized dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics
[名词] （尤指政治）大团体中的一个有组织的异议小集团
深入解读
相对于 faction 而言，通常更为熟悉的是 fiction （小说）一词，后者主要指部分或全部虚构的短篇、中篇、长篇小说等。而 faction 一词则直接源自拉丁语 factionem （政党、阶级），现主要表示“（大团体中的）派别、派系、小集团”，比如：
- 打压政府中的对立派别
thwart rival factions within the administration - 那些狂热的右翼派别领导者
these frenetic right wing faction leaders
一个团体内部有派系之分，自然就有相互斗争，所以 faction 还可以引申用于表达“派系之争”或者说“内讧”，比如：
- 一个因派系和阴谋诡计搞得四分五裂的政党永远赢得不了工人阶级的大多数选票。
A party divided by faction and intrigue will never scoop up the majority of the working-class vote. - 在他的四年总统任期内，那个国家派系之争和自私自利成风。
Faction and self-interest in that country was rife during his four-year tenure as President.
别看 faction 上面的意思与 fiction 差了十万八千里，但 faction 一词同小站之前推过的 swallow, staple, founder, lurch, teem, toil 等一样，也是个同形异义词。它的另一个含义正是由 fact + fiction 组合而来，指“纪实与虚构相结合的小说或电影等”。
名著用例
So were four churches with their Ladies' Aid and Missionary societies. Great care had to be taken to avoid putting members of warring factions on the same committees.
四个教堂，连同它们的妇女协进会和传教士协会，也是这样，人们得注意不要把对立派的会员选进同一个委员会里。
出自美国作家玛格丽特·米切尔（Margaret Mitchell）创作的长篇小说《飘》（Gone with the Wind）。该小说在1937年获得普利策奖，是玛格丽特·米切尔在世时出版的唯一一部作品。不但它成为美国史上最为畅销的小说之一，而且由这部小说所改编的同名电影《乱世佳人》也成为影史上不朽的经典。
同近义词
- clique: a small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them
- coterie: a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people
- caucus: a group within an organization or political party which meets independently to discuss strategy or tactics
