as in slight
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
only niggling differences between the original Broadway musical and the film version that followed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in complaining
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of niggling
Andy Naylor, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025
The sellers got slightly more than their asking price without any niggling 11th-hour negotiations.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 29 Aug. 2024
And yet, a niggling sense of loss remains after the season 5 finale; many of Diana’s most important moments and relationships are relegated to a handful of scenes.
—Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 10 Nov. 2022
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
There are niggling, nagging, familiar concerns, like not taking chances, like being hit on the counter, but our section erupts when Willock scores and then erupts again when his goal is ruled out.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
The hard part of getting cars to drive themselves is the last niggling 1 percent of reliability.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Oct. 2016
Adjective
Numerous niggling absences across the pre-season programme, plus the loss of Adam Webster for most of the campaign with knee ligament damage sustained in a non-contact incident in training during the camp in Spain in July, do not bode well on that front.
—Andy Naylor, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025
The sellers got slightly more than their asking price without any niggling 11th-hour negotiations.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 29 Aug. 2024
And yet, a niggling sense of loss remains after the season 5 finale; many of Diana’s most important moments and relationships are relegated to a handful of scenes.
—Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 10 Nov. 2022
Verb
Henry dismisses Yasmin but can’t shake the niggling feeling that his wife isn’t entirely wrong.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
There are niggling, nagging, familiar concerns, like not taking chances, like being hit on the counter, but our section erupts when Willock scores and then erupts again when his goal is ruled out.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
The hard part of getting cars to drive themselves is the last niggling 1 percent of reliability.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Oct. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggling
Adjective
-
The slight kitten heels add a feminine touch, while the open design keeps your feet cool all day long.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Porcelain and ceramic tiles are both suitable, with porcelain offering a slight edge due to its better heat resistance.—
Kamron Sanders,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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What was once a vibrant part of the downtown has largely been abandoned by shoppers, and businesses are complaining about the lack of parking.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
-
On the hottest of hot Disney theme park days, a portable fan can be a great way to cool off and minimize complaining from the littlest members of your group.—
Terri Peters,
Parents,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The war with Hezbollah launched in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks never really ended, despite a nominal ceasefire that went into effect in November 2024.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Both had incumbents with nominal primary opposition, but the primaries to select a November challenger saw big spending.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Joy Randolph and John Early, as the two Afterlife Coordinators, have a quibbling charisma, but the movie should have done more with all its possible versions of paradise, figuring out how to use them comedically instead of just as easy punchlines.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
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When the murder of 100,000 people, many of them women and children, is mentioned or denounced, or when someone dares to use terms such as genocide, ethnocide, ethnic cleansing or similar, most people choose to take issue with the characterization, quibbling over semantics.—
Uriel Kon
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
What is the pettiest thing that annoys you during a race weekend?—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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Travelers can also take additional steps by staying vigilant for petty crime, and moving throughout the city with extra awareness.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Your son is fussing in his car seat.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Emma looked around, confused at the adults fussing around him and too young, perhaps, to grasp the severity of the scene.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Interestingly, these tiny wonders can detect a temperature spike in 100 nanoseconds.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
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Two tiny humanoid robots that can play soccer stand in a glass case, one blinking and gesturing at visitors and the other partially disassembled to reveal the engineering inside.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While Slot was moaning about having to play two away matches in four days (and about missing a couple of key players), Emery, also without important figures such as Boubacar Kamara, was overseeing his Villa side playing the same tough schedule and win both games without conceding a goal.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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While lying on the pavement, he could be heard moaning as an officer shouted at him not to move.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
13 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Niggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggling. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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