caviled

verb

variants or cavilled
past tense of cavil
as in complained
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for caviled
  1. complained
  2. fussed
  3. moaned
Verb
  • After Benton’s reelection, Welch said, Benton still complained to labor that the speaker should have done more.
    — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026
  • While networks since the rabbit-ears days have complained about Nielsen’s methods, the company has been in the crosshairs numerous times during the streaming boom as its capabilities have faced scrutiny.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of complained
Verb
  • The crime went unsolved for many years, prompting Mason to start making this movie in the early 2000s, and the immediate conclusion to jump to is that the LAPD maybe wasn’t too fussed about it.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Dunst doesn’t get fussed about that sort of thing.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 Nov. 2025
Definition of fussed
Verb
  • Coach Arne Slot moaned about VAR but his problems lie much closer to home.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 4 May 2026
  • Critics moaned when the CFP committee picked the Hurricanes over Notre Dame as the last Power 4 entry into the playoffs.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
Definition of moaned
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

cavil
caviled
caviler
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Cite this Entry

“Caviled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caviled. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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