variants
or quarrelling
as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily
the coach and the referee quarreled about whether the ball was in bounds
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 quarreling
Now might not seem the moment for Democrats to be quarrelling, but many of them believe that the only way to build the Party back up is to remake it.
—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
The lack of money has, at times, led to quarrelling between the services - most notably pitting the navy against the army and the Royal Air Force.
—
Ian King,
CNBC,
22 Apr. 2026
Police said witness accounts indicate that the couple arrived at Zuri Hotel in Zanzibar on April 4 and had been quarreling frequently until the night of April 8, when hotel management separated them and asked McCann to move to a separate villa about a 10-minute walk away.
—
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Her father, after quarreling with Antigone’s mother, locked her out of their house overnight, which led to a terrible accident.
—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
Lydon’s revelation comes after years of quarreling with guitarist Steve Jones, bassist Glen Matlock, and drummer Paul Cook.
—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
30 Dec. 2025
The family is reportedly quarreling over Princess Beatrice and Eugenie’s royal roles after their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had his titles taken away.
—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
13 Nov. 2025
The discovery was entirely by chance, and happened when an officer responded to Mirella's parents' residence after neighbors reported quarreling, per several outlets.
—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
The political malaise risks metastasizing into an economic crisis because the quarreling political parties cannot agree on a way forward, such as passing a budget and addressing the country's alarming budget deficit and mounting national debt.
—
John Toher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
The lack of money has, at times, led to quarrelling between the services - most notably pitting the navy against the army and the Royal Air Force.
—
Ian King,
CNBC,
22 Apr. 2026
Police said witness accounts indicate that the couple arrived at Zuri Hotel in Zanzibar on April 4 and had been quarreling frequently until the night of April 8, when hotel management separated them and asked McCann to move to a separate villa about a 10-minute walk away.
—
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Her father, after quarreling with Antigone’s mother, locked her out of their house overnight, which led to a terrible accident.
—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
Lydon’s revelation comes after years of quarreling with guitarist Steve Jones, bassist Glen Matlock, and drummer Paul Cook.
—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
30 Dec. 2025
The family is reportedly quarreling over Princess Beatrice and Eugenie’s royal roles after their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had his titles taken away.
—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
13 Nov. 2025
The discovery was entirely by chance, and happened when an officer responded to Mirella's parents' residence after neighbors reported quarreling, per several outlets.
—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
The political malaise risks metastasizing into an economic crisis because the quarreling political parties cannot agree on a way forward, such as passing a budget and addressing the country's alarming budget deficit and mounting national debt.
—
John Toher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quarreling
Verb
-
Several weeks back, Clark and White were caught bickering during a timeout huddle against the expansion Portland Fire.
-
The plot centers on bickering couple Joe and Angela, who invite their noisy upstairs neighbors, Hawk and Piña, for dinner.
Verb
-
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, officials are pausing data center development for one year, with vocal neighbors arguing that the risk posed by a controversial project outweigh the threat of litigation.
-
President Donald Trump‘s first-term Attorney General Bill Barr is making an aggressive public push for Senate Republicans to confirm Todd Blanche as the nation’s next attorney general, arguing the president’s acting Justice Department chief is the best person to lead the department.
Verb
-
Then some classic fighting soldiers — not American Revolution battles but intergalactic — come blended into the metal music gyrations of the helmet-wearing band Galactic Empire.
-
As with fighting the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis, the urgency of the problem will likely only sink in when the need arises.
Cite this Entry
“Quarreling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quarreling. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
