quibbled

verb

past tense of quibble
1
as in complained
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bickered
to express different opinions about something often angrily don't quibble over who gets to sit in front

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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 quibbled The story that’s being quibbled about concerns a teen suicide. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026 During a debate Tuesday, some lawmakers quibbled over whether the bill would infringe on the free market. — Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 5 Mar. 2026 Some trustees saw the enforcement approach as reasonable and quibbled with the details, while others wanted Wilmette to go much further in its restrictions. — Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026 Those specific numbers can obviously be quibbled with. — Aaron Gleeman, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025 That trove included more than 300 black-and-white photographs, shared via JSTOR, which capture both Lulu the woman and Lulu the clown, though Lulu would have quibbled with the distinction. — April White, JSTOR Daily, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quibbled
  1. complained
  2. bickered
  3. fussed
  4. argued
  5. moaned
  6. quarreled
  7. muttered
  8. fought
Verb
  • After Benton’s reelection, Welch said, Benton still complained to labor that the speaker should have done more.
    — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026
  • While networks since the rabbit-ears days have complained about Nielsen’s methods, the company has been in the crosshairs numerous times during the streaming boom as its capabilities have faced scrutiny.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of complained
Verb
  • King bickered with fans on social media.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026
  • But Tilly and Gershon playfully bickered onstage as the former remembered things slightly differently, with Tilly saying the problem had more to do with a shot of her hand on Gershon's crotch that was deemed too realistic.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 June 2026
Definition of bickered
Verb
  • The crime went unsolved for many years, prompting Mason to start making this movie in the early 2000s, and the immediate conclusion to jump to is that the LAPD maybe wasn’t too fussed about it.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Dunst doesn’t get fussed about that sort of thing.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 Nov. 2025
Definition of fussed
Verb
  • Some opponents of the merger have argued that the deal will effectively consolidate all of March Madness under one corporate umbrella and ultimately harm competition for college sports rights.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • That’s why the oil market may be underpricing that risk, argued Tompkins.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of argued
Verb
  • Coach Arne Slot moaned about VAR but his problems lie much closer to home.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 4 May 2026
  • Critics moaned when the CFP committee picked the Hurricanes over Notre Dame as the last Power 4 entry into the playoffs.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
Definition of moaned
Verb
  • During his time in the Senate, Brattin was previously a member of the Conservative Caucus, which later rebranded as the Missouri Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-charging lawmakers that frequently quarreled with GOP leadership.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 3 Aug. 2026
  • In fact, Twain might well have quarreled with the whole premise of celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
    — Ron Chernow, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
Definition of quarreled
Verb
  • This was 1872, and the pious (and patronizing) commentators of the time muttered that Damien’s unvarnished personality was due to his simple farm upbringing in rural Belgium.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
  • Bat met ball and, under his breath, Astros manager Joe Espada muttered an expletive.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 29 June 2026
Definition of muttered
Verb
  • Rhodes went for the Figure Four, but Punk fought out and tried a GTS.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • And in Florida, the longest war the United States government fought was with Black maroons called Seminoles.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of fought

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Cite this Entry

“Quibbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibbled. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of quibbled for Spanish Speakers

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