The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Altercation \Al`ter*ca"tion\ (?; 277), n. [F. altercation, fr.
   L. altercatio.]
   Warm contention in words; dispute carried on with heat or
   anger; controversy; wrangle; wordy contest. "Stormy
   altercations." --Macaulay.
   [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Altercation, Dispute, Wrangle.

   Usage: The term dispute is in most cases, but not
          necessarily, applied to a verbal contest; as, a
          dispute on the lawfulness of war. An altercation is an
          angry dispute between two parties, involving an
          interchange of severe language. A wrangle is a
          confused and noisy altercation.
          [1913 Webster]

                Their whole life was little else than a
                perpetual wrangling and altercation. --Hakewill.
          [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

altercation
    n 1: noisy quarrel [syn: affray, altercation, fracas]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

58 Moby Thesaurus words for "altercation":
   Kilkenny cats, argument, bicker, bickering, blood feud, brawl,
   broil, cat-and-dog life, combat, conflict, contention,
   contentiousness, contest, contestation, controversy,
   cut and thrust, debate, disputation, dispute, donnybrook,
   donnybrook fair, embroilment, enmity, falling-out, feud, fight,
   fighting, fliting, fracas, fuss, hostility, imbroglio, litigation,
   logomachy, open quarrel, paper war, polemic, quarrel, quarreling,
   quarrelsomeness, scrapping, sharp words, slanging match, snarl,
   spat, squabble, squabbling, strife, struggle, tiff, tussle,
   vendetta, war, war of words, warfare, words, wrangle, wrangling