ma.don denotes interpersonal conflict or contention, especially conflict stirred up, sustained, or needing to cease.

The occurrences depict conflict or contention: it can be stirred up by anger or perversity, spread through a whisperer or gossip, characterize a contentious household, and cease when its source is removed. Both singular and plural forms occur in these settings without a clearly distinct usage.

1. Conflict and contention among people · dominant

   In Proverbs 15:18 the singular noun stands in the contrast between a rage-filled man who stirs conflict and one slow to anger who quiets it. Proverbs 16:28 places it with a perverse man who sends it out and a whisperer who separates close friends; Proverbs 22:10 says that removing the mocker brings its departure. The plural form occurs in household and personal settings in Proverbs 21:19 and Proverbs 25:24, while Proverbs 26:21 compares a contentious man to fuel that kindles it.

   Proverbs 15:18Proverbs 16:28Proverbs 22:10Proverbs 21:19Proverbs 25:24Proverbs 26:21

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the surrounding clauses with “strife,” including conflict stirred by rage, perversity, or contentious conduct; it also uses “quarreling” in Proverbs 26:20 and “quarrel” in Proverbs 17:14. These English expressions indicate the verse-level presentation rather than fixed translations of the noun.