as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
you know it drives me crazy when you niggle like that
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in quibble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in qualm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of niggle
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Verb
From 2021 onwards, only a calf and niggling knee injury have caused Fullkrug to miss games.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Noun
When the lineup had to be rotated to rest players nursing niggles, backups slotted in with virtually no noticeable decline in team play.
—Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggle
Verb
-
Biden complained when the courts blocked his efforts to forgive student loan debt.—
Graham Underwood,
arkansasonline.com,
17 Mar. 2025
-
Fix Problems Many of us like to complain about broken systems, inefficient processes, or other things that annoy us at work.—
Joseph Liu,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Conclusion Those are minor quibbles with what is a surprisingly affordable, comfortable and capable all-terrain, long-distance e-bike.—
William Roberson,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
-
The report found the company to be exceptional, with quibbles so minor that explaining them here would require a crash course in the dense lexicon of climate reporting.—
Justin Worland,
TIME,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
My only qualm with the entraña sandwich was that the meat was too chewy in some bites, a common issue with skirt steak.—
Kaitlyn Rosati,
New York Daily News,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Musk, though, appears to have few qualms about touting A.I.’s conclusions as fact.—
Kyle Chayka,
The New Yorker,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
On top of this, her mother and sister are fussing about her future relationship status, which leads to them plotting some dates for her.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
The world saw this five-man group as an ideal of friendship, a community working and living together, fussing and fighting but making rough beauty out of it.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The Missouri Senate on Monday easily approved a state takeover plan for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department over the objections of the city's mayor and local senators.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
12 Mar. 2025
-
Many Israelis see Gazan emigration as a good idea but not practical There has been little vocal objection from prominent opposition politicians in Israel.—
Daniel Estrin,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
About 70% to 80% of people experience a tremor, James Beck, PhD, chief scientific officer at the Parkinson’s Foundation, told Health.—
Kristen Fischer,
Health,
11 Mar. 2025
-
For individuals with vision loss or tremors, using scissors or knives to open a package is a dangerous proposition that could easily lead to unintended injury.—
Bill Schiffmiller,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
For one, both experts say that being too rigid can also lead to self-sabotaging behaviors, like rejecting otherwise great matches for superficial reasons or coming up with excuses to nitpick things that never mattered before.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Plus, getting to know each other tends to take priority over nitpicking the small stuff during the whirlwind honeymoon phase.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
In October, after successfully beating back a court challenge by Republicans, the Department of Homeland Security announced that existing beneficiaries of the humanitarian parole would not be able to renew the benefit after two years.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Foreman returned to the ring in 1987, launching a 24-fight winning streak that lasted three years before his third-ever loss to Evander Holyfield in 1991 in a championship challenge.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
22 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to niggle
Cite this Entry
“Niggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggle. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share