as in nitpicking
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as in ambiguity
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of quibbling
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Kevin Frazier, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
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
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
Adjective
-
The perpetual buzz of mining bees mingled with the shuffle of rabbits through the bushes, woodpeckers’ rapid-fire drilling, and the hard-staccato tchack, tchack, tchack of ravenlike birds known as jackdaws, creating a subtle symphony.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Look for alcohol-free, subtle formulas the goal is a whisper of fragrance, not a perfume cloud that announces itself from across the room.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
While all three negatively impact both individual and organizational outcomes, researchers found that role ambiguity tended to be the most detrimental driver.—
Paula Davis,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
At the same time, each phase of progress has also revealed the ambiguity of tools that can cause harm when not oriented toward the good.—
Pope Leo XIV,
Boston Herald,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
The amplifying of complaining subcontractors, always easy to find.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2026
-
But many Spotify users voiced displeasure at the change-up, with some complaining that the disco ball looked pixelated on a small phone screen and, generally, was visually displeasing.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
An Auburn University student missing in Japan for nearly a week had set off alone during a family vacation after his family was bickering, his parents said Thursday.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2026
-
The emotional distress may have stemmed from the family's extended trip together and bickering, his mother told USA TODAY on June 3.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Parents will be just as grateful for an entertaining, kid-friendly show that tackles such nuanced topics.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
8 Dec. 2025
-
His team wanted to take a more nuanced look at the connection between potato consumption and diabetes risk.—
Sarah Garone,
Health,
8 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
As Raul grapples with telling the story of Elsa’s life, he’s confronted by the murkiness of borrowing from real people for the purposes of fiction.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
-
There is a bit of murkiness on salaries for coaches of private schools like TCU, as USA Today’s amounts for private schools were based on schools’ most recently available financial records, which cover the 2023 calendar year.—
SportsDay Staff,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Emma looked around, confused at the adults fussing around him and too young, perhaps, to grasp the severity of the scene.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
-
As the migrants boarded, a man hoisted one of the passengers in the air, a fussing 8-month-old baby whose face was flushed red from the heat.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Thousands of supporters rallied behind Shalom Wildlife Zoo after neighbors filed a lawsuit arguing its operations weren't allowed on land meant for agriculture.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
11 Dec. 2025
-
Mangione's attorneys are arguing that evidence recovered on the day of his arrest — including a magazine, a gun, a silencer and a notebook of Mangione's writings — should not be admissible in his state trial.—
Janelle Griffith,
PEOPLE,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quibbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibbling. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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