as in quarreled
to express different opinions about something often angrily
if you two don't stop bickering about where to go to eat, we're not going out at all!
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Recent Examples of bickered
The actors jokingly bickered about their history with the ceremony, with Cheadle remarking that Clooney hadn’t won since 2026 winner Timothée Chalamet was 3 years old.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Jan. 2026
On 33 occasions since 2017, Congress has been forced to pass emergency extensions to the flood insurance program, as lawmakers bickered over budgets and looming shutdowns threatened to disrupt it, according to a letter the National Association of Realtors sent to Congress ahead of the shutdown.
—Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
In recent years, the companies have bickered about the rise of streaming services, in which the media companies are investing billions of dollars and which lure away cable and satellite customers.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
Communists and socialists bickered over doctrine and orthodoxy.
—Kornel Chang
september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
During the squabble, Darcey and Georgi bickered about the communication issues impacting their relationship, leaving Georgi’s parents Ginka and Ivan concerned about how healthy their son’s relationship was.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Jan. 2026
On 33 occasions since 2017, Congress has been forced to pass emergency extensions to the flood insurance program, as lawmakers bickered over budgets and looming shutdowns threatened to disrupt it, according to a letter the National Association of Realtors sent to Congress ahead of the shutdown.
—Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
In recent years, the companies have bickered about the rise of streaming services, in which the media companies are investing billions of dollars and which lure away cable and satellite customers.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
Communists and socialists bickered over doctrine and orthodoxy.
—Kornel Chang
september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
During the squabble, Darcey and Georgi bickered about the communication issues impacting their relationship, leaving Georgi’s parents Ginka and Ivan concerned about how healthy their son’s relationship was.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bickered
Verb
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For the past seven months, SDC has quarreled with state officials and lawmakers over its community action agency title.—
Gina Lee Castro,
jsonline.com,
26 Nov. 2025
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Rhoden's biggest political victory this year was getting the state Legislature to sign off on a $650 million plan in September to replace the 141-year-old state penitentiary, an issue the Legislature had quarreled over for years.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Konyndyk argued that mortality data won’t reflect many adverse outcomes of the aid cuts, because humanitarians and aid recipients are frantically reallocating funds; for example, taking money away from education to put it towards food.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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Clean-power investment from the Gulf — and particularly from Saudi Arabia and the UAE — into Africa is surging, but could have even greater impact were it targeted more towards power infrastructure, a new report argued.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then, amid the pandemic, my research on cultural destruction was suddenly everywhere as Azerbaijan launched a war in our ancestral homeland—fought in the shadow of erasures like Djulfa.—
Simon Maghakyan,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
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As the fish fruitlessly fought the current, neurons that release norepinephrine fired; in response, calcium built up in astrocytes.—
Ingrid Wickelgren,
Quanta Magazine,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Protestors and federal agents clashed near the Edward Roybal Federal Court Building and the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.—
Paris Barraza,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
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Take the recent afternoon in south Minneapolis, where dozens of protesters, some in gas masks, clashed with immigration agents in south Minneapolis.—
Tim Sullivan,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Personalities from the stations have squabbled over the years, like rappers signed to labels with similar wares but diverging agendas.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
19 Dec. 2025
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This go-around hasn’t been much different as the party squabbled over which of their numerous health care proposals should receive a vote.—
Nathaniel Weixel,
The Hill,
13 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Enter Stephanie Vaquer, who fought off Rodriguez as the two brawled into the crowd for the second brawl in the first hour of the show.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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As a ballplayer, Kent was as irascible as Bonds; the two alphas reportedly brawled behind clubhouse doors, and famously clashed in the dugout during a 2002 game, when Bonds lunged for Kent’s throat and pushed him against the wall.—
Jeremy Collins,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bickered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bickered. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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