niggled; niggling
ˈni-g(ə-)liŋ 
1
a
: trifle
b
: to spend too much effort on minor details
2
: to find fault constantly in a petty way : carp
She haggles, she niggles, she wears our patience down …—
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf3
: gnaw
: to give stingily or in tiny portions
chiefly British
: a trifling doubt, objection, or complaint
nig·gler
-g(ə)lə(r)
plural -s
: one that niggles
the nigglers … take great pride in their discovery of a trifling error and go to immense lengths to point it out—Philip Wylie
Philip WylieExamples of niggle in a Sentence
Verb
She had been niggled by worry her entire life.
He's always niggling over small details.
Noun (1)
I've had a knee niggle for the past few days.
He has a bit of a niggle in his back.
I have a few minor niggles about the performance.
Recent Examples on the Web
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
Henry dismisses Yasmin but can’t shake the niggling feeling that his wife isn’t entirely wrong.
—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
The only niggle here is that, despite this new method of testing being genuinely innovative—one that allows Omega to award these two-hand watches its Master Chronometer label—the concept of accuracy to the second for a dress watch could be seen by some as overkill.
—
Jeremy White,
Wired News,
26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for niggle
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Verb
The new calculation, made at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, could help solve a niggling mystery about this particle’s mass.
—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
Henry dismisses Yasmin but can’t shake the niggling feeling that his wife isn’t entirely wrong.
—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
The most recent of those, Sunday’s 1-0 defeat away to Leeds, still niggles.
—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
The only niggle here is that, despite this new method of testing being genuinely innovative—one that allows Omega to award these two-hand watches its Master Chronometer label—the concept of accuracy to the second for a dress watch could be seen by some as overkill.
—
Jeremy White,
Wired News,
26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Cite this Entry
“Niggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niggle. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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