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
-
The collapse of the Oxbow Bridge, which linked Cibola in La Paz County to California, poses a serious threat to public health and safety and has cut off a critical access route between the two states, the La Paz County Board of Supervisors said.—
Wren Smetana,
AZCentral.com,
9 Aug. 2025 -
Every day across America, transportation officials face the same critical challenges: reducing 40,000 annual traffic fatalities, managing increasingly congested roadways and improving air quality in urban centers.—
David Roberts,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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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
-
My hypercritical brain took this imperfection and ran with it.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Allure,
26 June 2025
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This has led to multiple fans getting hypercritical of the iconic wrestler, calling out his age and accusing him of simply being a product of former WCW president Eric Bischoff.—
Jeremy Hanna,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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But the Dolphins must still be judicious with Daniels.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
29 July 2025
-
The Padres didn’t get a chance to be that judicious against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez in the nightcap.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 July 2025
Verb
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The whining about everyone else didn’t help, either.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2024
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Stop whining and thank your lucky stars for having a job.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Caviling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caviling. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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