as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
caviled for hours about a single sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in quibble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of cavil
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2021
However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.
—Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 7 Oct. 2020
Verb
Naysayers often cavil that California’s economic growth depends almost entirely on Silicon Valley and the capital gains income of its wealthiest residents, but its primacy in high technology encompasses fields outside Northern California, such as biotech.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2021
However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.
—Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 7 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cavil
Verb
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Cannon complained to Delta and to the Department of Transportation, which regulates airlines.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
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Company officials also complained that the administration of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot slowed down financing approval, a charge Lightfoot vehemently denies.—
Brian J. Rogal,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2025
Noun
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But those gripes strike me as nothing more than minor quibbles.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
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Send your wine questions and quibbles to sethebarlowwine@gmail.com Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans.—
Seth Eli Barlow,
Arkansas Online,
13 May 2025
Verb
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Apple is not legally required to re-admit Fortnite, but the questions now are whether Apple is going to nitpick some specific thing to deny the app that caused all this, or whether Fortnite has somehow pushed the bounds of the results of the case to twist the knife even further.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
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Fans of the game have either enjoyed the series so far, nitpicked a number of differences between them, or both.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Knowing her grandson was outside, Mette called out to the group as the commotion grew, demanding the quarrel stop and for her grandchild to leave, sources said.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
24 Apr. 2025
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This time, however, testimony suggested a thornier layer to the quarrel: Phillip said the family had learned a few years earlier that the older brother was not Ferguson’s biological child.—
Christopher Goffard,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As Harper, from Queensland, Australia, pet Olive and stroked her face gently, her furious golden retriever, named Cub, sat upright and appeared to frown at his owner for fussing anyone other than him.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 May 2025
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Video footage of the animals shows the eagle fussing at the coyote and trying to chase it off.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
6 May 2025
Noun
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There is no doubt that not having to play the next day has its benefits.—
Julio Cesar Valdera Morales,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 May 2025
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For subsumed within Lincoln’s willingness to accept the Chicago nomination was knowledge — perhaps without a doubt — of what actions by states were to come and what actions were morally right for the government to pursue.—
Michael Peregrine,
Chicago Tribune,
18 May 2025
Verb
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But the Francophone descriptor fails to conjure the dust her voice kicks up, the grit and moan that hang in the air after each song.—
Carrie Brownstein,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2025
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Having been browbeaten by the negativity of previous coaches Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, having a manager who didn't dismiss the idea the team could be title challengers or moan about a lack of talent was refreshing.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But that same morning, the party suffered a setback that may be more consequential: losing control of the state board that sets voting rules and adjudicates election disputes.—
Doug Bock Clark,
ProPublica,
16 May 2025
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If not, the consumer can file a dispute with the credit card issuer, Kiernan said.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cavil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cavil. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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