1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

caviler

noun

variants or caviller
Definition of cavilernext
as in criticizer
a person given to harsh judgments and to finding faults the chronic cavilers who are going to complain no matter what the mayor does

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for caviler
  1. criticizer
  2. critic
Noun
  • In turn, the criticizer is made out to be overreacting.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Definition of criticizer
Noun
  • David Ellison has voiced his belief, which is shared by other critics of the AGs’ legal maneuver, that the opposition to Paramount-WBD is about his control CNN — rather than antitrust concerns.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
  • But the consolations of art do not depend on achievement, and that might be Kingsolver’s most direct riposte to her critics.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of critic
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

caviled
caviler
cavilers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Caviler.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caviler. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fungible

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All