quibbling 1 of 3

adjective

as in nitpicking

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quibbling

2 of 3

noun

as in ambiguity

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quibbling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of quibble
1
as in complaining
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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2
as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily don't quibble over who gets to sit in front

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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 quibbling
Adjective
More support tickets, more quibbling, more negotiating. — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
This may seem like semantic quibbling, but the stakes of imprecise legislation in this domain are quite high. — Kevin Frazier, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
Joy Randolph and John Early, as the two Afterlife Coordinators, have a quibbling charisma, but the movie should have done more with all its possible versions of paradise, figuring out how to use them comedically instead of just as easy punchlines. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quibbling
  1. subtle
  2. ambiguity
  3. complaining
  4. bickering
  5. nuanced
  6. murkiness
  7. fussing
  8. arguing
Adjective
  • Poindexter featured his three daughters in his first campaign advertisement for the general election, taking a subtle dig at Miller.
    — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Later still, we are introduced to Satoko Iijima (Ishida), who again shares many defining features with her two namesakes, albeit with just enough subtle differences to keep the audience on the back foot.
    — James Marsh, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of subtle
Noun
  • There is little ambiguity about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aims.
    — Julianne Smith, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Others, however, like Morissa Schwartz, founder of GenZ Publishing, said the ambiguity might have been deliberate.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambiguity
Verb
  • That would drive up yields on French bonds, making borrowing to fund that spending even more expensive—and thus worsen the problem that the rioters are complaining about.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Voters are not going to make legislators do a better job by grumbling and complaining.
    — Scott Warren, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of complaining
Verb
  • Like law enforcement agents everywhere, they’re disposed to bickering about jurisdiction or pumping each other for off-limits information.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026
  • There’s striker Josie Gordon, bickering twin sisters Siobhan and Niamh, glove-shunning goalie Katie ‘Boots’ Quinn and couple Maddie and Margy.
    — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of bickering
Adjective
  • That made The Social Network daring in its nuanced depiction of the enterprise, and the film consequently raised profound questions for audiences to grapple with.
    — Andrew McGowan, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • This is to say nothing about gender, kinks, preferences, fluidity, and other nuanced things that complicate sexuality.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of nuanced
Noun
  • But the murkiness doesn’t last long in a production that achieves an admirable balance between objectivity and emotion, abstraction and representation.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Because of the legal murkiness, Pratte urges people to talk to an attorney before foregoing registration.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of murkiness
Verb
  • Similar to Egypt after its collapse earlier in the week, Switzerland exited fussing about the officiating.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • Yes, teaching by example is often a better way of handling a challenge than fussing about it.
    — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 17 June 2026
Definition of fussing
Verb
  • When Albin returned to the question of which country posed the greater threat to American interests, el Sayed again declined to choose between them, arguing that both had demonstrated the capacity to cause harm.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Claims of extensive cooperation Before sentencing, Wandner urged Altman to impose a sentence below the advisory guidelines, arguing that his client’s assistance to investigators had been unusually valuable.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of arguing

Browse Nearby Words

quibbles
quibbling
quick
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Cite this Entry

“Quibbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibbling. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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