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quib·ble | \ ˈkwi-bəl 
\
\quibbled; quibbling\ ˈkwi-b(ə-)liŋ \
\Definition of quibble
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to evade the point of an argument by caviling about words
: to subject to quibbles
quibble
nounDefinition of quibble (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : an evasion of or shift from the point
2 : a minor objection or criticism
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Other Words from quibble
Verb
quibbler \ ˈkwi-b(ə-)lər \ noun
\ noun
Examples of quibble in a Sentence
Verb
he spent the entire evening quibbling about the historical inaccuracies in the television series on World War II
don't quibble over who gets to sit in front Noun
Our only quibble about the trip was that it rained a lot.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Some might quibble that Carlson, who acted first, deserved center stage.
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Jake Coyle, chicagotribune.com, "Review: ‘Bombshell’ breezes through a Fox News rebellion," 12 Dec. 2019 One can quibble around the length of time considered for renewing.
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Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, "Real World Economics: Lessons seen in ill-fated water-rail plan," 9 Nov. 2019 The two have have quibbled over both policies and tactics during their six months together in the House but recently appeared to unify after President Donald Trump made racist attacks against four minority members of Congress.
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Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY, "'I’m looking forward to it': Pelosi minimizes tensions with Ocasio-Cortez ahead of meeting," 17 July 2019 Still, those ideas — about the betrayals inherent in love, democracy and musicals themselves — are too exciting and important to dismiss by quibbling them to death.
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Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, "‘Soft Power’ reviews at the Public Theater veer from ‘revolutionary’ to ‘nonsense’," 16 Oct. 2019 Still, those ideas — about the betrayals inherent in love, democracy and musicals themselves — are too exciting and important to dismiss by quibbling them to death.
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Jesse Green, New York Times, "Review: In the Musical ‘Soft Power,’ China Whistles the Tune," 15 Oct. 2019 Telling people to bring their own food and then quibbling with the results is unfair and counterproductive.
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Judith Martin, Washington Post, "Miss Manners: Potluck hosts can’t be mad about unpredictable results," 16 Aug. 2019 Questioning Rwanda’s statistics may seem to be no more than quibbling over numbers.
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The Economist, "Has Rwanda been fiddling its numbers?," 15 Aug. 2019 Now just imagine the uproar if the federation’s lawyers are seen to be quibbling over dollar signs as all of America is celebrating its latest team of sweethearts.
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Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, "Opinion: More than title at stake for USWNT in World Cup final. Trophy would boost legal case," 6 July 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun My lone quibble: The three slices of cheddar were overkill and didn’t completely melt.
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Michael Mayo, sun-sentinel.com, "Review: A fresh look at ‘old’ Hard Rock restaurants Kuro, the Bol and a gilded burger at Hard Rock Cafe," 24 Oct. 2019 Leonhard quibbles with that characterization, though.
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Joan Niesen, SI.com, "After an Uncharacteristic 2018, Wisconsin's Staunch Defense Is Back," 26 Sep. 2019 That led to a quibble between Impossible and regulators.
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Washington Post, "What makes Impossible meat possible? A “bloody” ingredient," 20 Sep. 2019 That led to a quibble between Impossible and regulators.
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San Diego Union-Tribune, "What makes Impossible meat possible? A “bloody” ingredient," 20 Sep. 2019 But these are quibbles that will be fun to debate in the coming weeks.
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Julie Washington, cleveland, "‘The Rise of Skywalker’ an emotional, gasp-inducing conclusion to ‘Star Wars’ trilogy," 18 Dec. 2019 Such quibbles, however, are clearly intended to be glossed over by the movie's generosity of spirit, and moments like people spontaneously bursting into song at the sight of Mr. Rogers, sequences as difficult to resist as the man himself.
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Brian Lowry, CNN, "It's a more beautiful 'Neighborhood' when Mister Rogers is in it," 22 Nov. 2019 But you quickly get used to such quibbles, as this is far from the only luxury hauler with this issue.
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Larry Printz, chicagotribune.com, "With the Levante GTS, Maserati proves its mastery of Ferrari-powered SUVs," 8 Nov. 2019 Along the way, there will be quibbles about open floor plans vs. heritage charm, lack of closet space, an outdated kitchen or atrocious commute times.
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Anchorage Daily News, "For 20 years, ‘House Hunters’ has been reliable reality TV. For millennials, it feels more like a fantasy.," 29 Sep. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quibble.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for quibble
quibble
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of quibble
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to argue or complain about small, unimportant things
quibble
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of quibble (Entry 2 of 2)
: a small complaint or criticism usually about something unimportant
See the full definition for quibble in the English Language Learners Dictionary
quibble
verbquib·ble | \ ˈkwi-bəl \
\quibbled; quibbling
Kids Definition of quibble
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to argue or complain about small and unimportant things
quibble
nounKids Definition of quibble (Entry 2 of 2)
: a small and usually unimportant complaint, criticism, or argument
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Time Traveler for quibble
The first known use of quibble was in 1650
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