1
as in complains
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 argues
to express different opinions about something often angrily
don't quibble over who gets to sit in front
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quibbles
Verb
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People tend to get involved once a problem becomes visible – when a price looks wrong, a transaction is flagged or a customer complains.—
Murugan Anandarajan,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026 -
In any work setting, there’s a person who sits around the table and complains about what’s wrong with the company, and then, when the boss walks in, that same person is over there pouring coffee, quiet as a church mouse.—
Willie Colon,
New York Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The complaint argues these practices harm both smaller companies and consumers, who face higher prices.—
Jessie Balmert,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Miller argues the city faces management problems and needs strong leadership to address housing, homelessness and public safety crises.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Supreme Court, over the objections of the three liberal justices, allowed Texas to use the map while the litigation continues.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
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But once the request for qualification statements was posted, some of those providers raised strenuous objections.—
Suzanne King,
Kansas City Star,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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So your first indication of problems can be a client who nitpicks every job, forcing you to return to re-trim the 2-inch patch of sod that the client claims wasn’t properly manicured.—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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But Brian constantly nitpicks her purchases.—
Kamaron McNair,
CNBC,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The pope, played by Samora la Perdida, is a mincing oaf who bickers with Galas about the value of translating Wagner.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Deviations from protocol can become focal points in criminal defense challenges, civil rights litigation and internal discipline reviews.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Moderator Andria Wilson Mirza opened the conversation by delving into each director's journey to the screen and exploring the challenges of curating films with unfolding narratives, like The Brittney Griner Story documentary, which is highly anticipated and debuting January 27, 2026, at Sundance.—
Dominique Fluker,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The three bills also are not the first headline-grabbing action from Schroer, who serves as chair of the Senate’s hard-right Freedom Caucus, which frequently quarrels with GOP leadership.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Minneapolis protests picked up steam in January following the deaths of Good and Pretti, who were both clashing with immigration enforcement at the time of their deaths.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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The largest will be outside Sydney Town Hall, where up to 5,000 pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather, despite restrictions on protests in the area imposed after the Bondi massacre.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Quibbles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibbles. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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