1
as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
he spent the entire evening quibbling about the historical inaccuracies in the television series on World War II
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to argue
to express different opinions about something often angrily
don't quibble over who gets to sit in front
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in objection
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of quibble
Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2025
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
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 18 Nov. 2025
My only quibble is that no working professional in recorded history has ever gone home for the Fourth of July.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 12 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quibble
Verb
Again, our reviewers could quibble with that ranking, as no Samsung sets appear in our best TVs list.
—Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2025
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
Noun
The same quibbles, but just writ larger (and, yes, longer).
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 18 Nov. 2025
My only quibble is that no working professional in recorded history has ever gone home for the Fourth of July.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 12 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quibble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quibble
Verb
-
In recent years, staff have complained of poor working conditions brought on by overcrowding, despite director Laurence des Cars’s 2023 move to cap attendance at 30,000 visitors daily, accompanied by a ticket price increase.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Later that day, the parents of other dancers and talent-show participants complained that my afro had covered up their kids on-screen.—
Questlove,
The Atlantic,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The conviction was later vacated in 2016, after a new legal team argued that Max’s original trial lawyer had a conflict of interest in the case.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Schumer on Saturday persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
At a City Hall news conference, the mayor responded to a question about retroactive changes to the 2026 budget, which aldermen passed over his objections last month, by reiterating the package could force personnel cuts.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
-
During the certification process, members of Congress have the opportunity to object to a state’s results, which triggers debate and then a vote about whether the objection is to be upheld.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But that certainly didn’t stop the critics from nitpicking everything from her rocking sleeveless dresses to not wearing hosiery.—
Essence,
Essence,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Certainly no other fan base will feel sorry for Blackhawks fans, but man, what Blackhawks fans wouldn’t give to be nitpicking a coach’s decision about who plays right wing on the fourth line again rather than checking out who’ll be available at the top of the draft in June.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Someone on the bench started bickering with Cameroon’s first goalscorer, Junior Tchamadeu, during a break in play.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The Federal Reserve chair and the president stood stiffly, side by side, in matching hard hats, bickering on a building site, for all the world to see.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Need to put a filling dinner on the table, but don't have a lot of time to fuss?—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
22 Dec. 2025
-
Dunst doesn’t get fussed about that sort of thing.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Barton gave the jury the impression of a man prepared to go into daily combat on numerous fronts, constantly fighting one battle after another, in service of his principles.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Players fought, fought, fought, gave us every chance in the world.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The team was excluded from an October race in Italy, the Giro dell'Emilia, because of concerns over potentially disruptive pro-Palestine protests.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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The protests became tense when Coast Guard officials fired multiple shots at a U-Haul truck, whose driver allegedly attempted to reverse onto the barricaded bridge to the island, striking the driver and another bystander.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quibble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibble. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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