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
-
Anushka complains about the agreement that asks users to accept 97 pages of terms and conditions in 7-point font, but these guys don’t even see themselves as car manufacturers.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
10 May 2026 -
Nobody visiting a nuclear facility complains about the onerous security features.—
Juliette Kayyem,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Bonta argues Bianco violated state law and the attorney general’s authority by removing ballots from official custody without identifying a specific crime or suspect.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
That creative legacy, Santiago argues, is now a competitive advantage.—
Mathew Scott,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Some members of the House have raised objections to provisions of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, in particular the ban on purchases by institutional investors.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 May 2026
-
Neither country’s domestic politics raised objections from the EBU, which viewed the contest purely as a broadcasting exercise, not a method for political accountability.—
Steven Blum,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
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
-
But Brian constantly nitpicks her purchases.—
Kamaron McNair,
CNBC,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Gardeners understand that both joys and challenges come with the craft.—
Rebecca Jones,
Southern Living,
11 May 2026
-
To tackle those challenges, Kassas and his colleagues use Doppler measurements of signal frequency changes that reflect satellite motions relative to the receiver, along with software algorithms to correct for timing errors.—
Andrew Cunningham,
ArsTechnica,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Their plans are quickly deterred by protests, a nosy hotel employee, an obsession with a ’50s horror movie and an endless stream of French cuisine, with each obstacle more ridiculous than the next.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
16 May 2026
-
Activists staged protests calling for the animal’s rescue, while influencers debated the best way to help it.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 May 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Quibbles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibbles. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
