as in critical
given to making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things
a peevish and carping old woman who is not a favorite at the nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
someone who carps and whines about everything is a pain
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cavilling
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
carped about the order of names on the wedding invitations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of carping
Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 16 June 2018
Adjective
But the novel as a whole suggests that Clinton is all too well acquainted with resentment against carping critics and burdensome bureaucracies.
—Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 16 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carping
Adjective
-
For the first time in human history, your intelligence will no longer be critical to your survival.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Whether the Yankees are willing to make that type of commitment to a player who will be 37 years old by the time the contract extension concludes will be perhaps the most critical question for the legendary franchise in the coming offseason.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Nah — not very long later, Tony is referencing his Bond obsession, complaining about the generic name of the secret drone-control computer program everyone is battling for here.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
-
But everybody was complaining and asking for a hot one.—
Andy Wang,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
So much of the new sobriety flex is anathema to the captious alcoholics of 12-step groups.—
Virginia Heffernan,
Wired,
19 Apr. 2022
-
That a right-wing party traditionally captious about American patriotism did not react heatedly to evidence of Russian interference in US elections is bizarre.—
Darryl Pinckney,
The New York Review of Books,
5 Nov. 2020
Verb
-
A couple climbed through a sunroof to rescue a 22-month-old screaming child left alone in a hot car, Massachusetts police said.—
Paloma Chavez,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Kristen raced to the school and found a cop waiting for her as well as firetrucks and an ambulance, where her son was inside screaming.—
Wendy Grossman Kantor,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In lesser hands, such a question, especially from a young white male who plays guitar for a living, could come off as whining.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
-
And since then, his crying and whining have increased.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
That might seem like nitpicking, except this is a franchise that has had the luxury of starting-caliber linemen as reserves.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Still, with star power and depth at all three levels of the defense, pointing out weaknesses is an act of nitpicking at this point.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Ellis could be heard moaning and could be seen lying on the ground.—
Elena Santa Cruz,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The patient is actually a training dummy that instructors can manipulate into yelling, moaning, retching, suffering blood pressure spikes, heart attacks and other medical emergencies.—
Beth Warren,
The Tennessean,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
This was the mid 1980s and tandem skydiving hadn’t been popularized yet, so his father, Roger, adjusted accordingly by stuffing carpet padding into the leg pads to stop him from fussing.—
Angelina Liu,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Carping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carping. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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