quarrel implies heated verbal contention, stressing strained or severed relations which may persist beyond the contention.
a quarrel nearly destroyed the relationship
wrangle suggests undignified and often futile disputation with a noisy insistence on differing opinions.
wrangle interminably about small issues
altercation implies fighting with words as the chief weapon, although it may also connote blows.
a loud public altercation
squabble stresses childish and unseemly dispute over petty matters, but it need not imply bitterness or anger.
a brief squabble over what to do next
Examples of squabble in a Sentence
Noun
frightened by noise of the squabble, the cat hid under the couch Verb
The children were squabbling over the toys.
the children squabbled loudly over who got to play with the toy first
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
But there’s lots of pushing and shoving going on between a major consumer advocacy group that wrote 103 — Consumer Watchdog — and Lara’s department, which is allied with insurers in this squabble.—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024 The politicians and agenda pushers splash rumors, innuendo and petty squabbles in the papers and social media.—Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
Verb
Every five years, publishers and platforms convene with the CRB to set the rates, and the most recent agreement set two years ago got particularly heated as the publishers and Spotify squabbled to get the rate settled.—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 21 May 2024 The Museum of Modern Art and the Leo Castelli Gallery squabbled over which place would get to début Stella’s black paintings as a group.—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for squabble
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'squabble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialect skvabbel dispute
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