variants
or cavilling
as in critical
given to making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things
a caviling theater critic who has yet to see a play she likes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or cavilling
as in complaining
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for caviling
Adjective
-
According to George Dimov, CPA, founder and CEO of Dimov Tax, the middle of the year offers a critical but underused window for strategic decisions.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
20 May 2025 -
Students are left without the critical education needed when entering the workforce and won’t be equipped with the tools necessary to lead and build organizations that are inclusive and sustainable.—
Janice Gassam Asare,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Verb
-
The irony of the quintessential real estate expert buying a home in the flight path of an international airport, then complaining about the noise, is not lost on the rest of Palm Beach County.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
-
That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
8 Jan. 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
Adjective
-
While Pansy’s hypercritical diatribes can be hilarious at times, the emotional pain that clearly underlies her behavior is heartbreaking.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
11 Jan. 2025
-
Especially as a woman online, a lot of people are so hypercritical of that sort of thing.—
Carly Thomas,
The Hollywood Reporter,
2 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Beyond tariffs: Be judicious in your expansion plans.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
-
Rays — For years, the Rays have managed to field contending teams through judicious under-the-radar trades by GM Erik Neander despite one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2025
Verb
-
The whining about everyone else didn’t help, either.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2024
-
Stop whining and thank your lucky stars for having a job.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
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.
Cite this Entry
“Caviling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caviling. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share