squabble 1 of 2

squabble

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun squabble contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of squabble are altercation, quarrel, and wrangle. While all these words mean "a noisy dispute usually marked by anger," squabble stresses childish and unseemly dispute over petty matters, but it need not imply bitterness or anger.

a brief squabble over what to do next

When could altercation be used to replace squabble?

The words altercation and squabble can be used in similar contexts, but altercation implies fighting with words as the chief weapon, although it may also connote blows.

a loud public altercation

When can quarrel be used instead of squabble?

While the synonyms quarrel and squabble are close in meaning, quarrel implies heated verbal contention, stressing strained or severed relations which may persist beyond the contention.

a quarrel nearly destroyed the relationship

When is it sensible to use wrangle instead of squabble?

The words wrangle and squabble are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, wrangle suggests undignified and often futile disputation with a noisy insistence on differing opinions.

wrangle interminably about small issues

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 squabble
Noun
The drop-off in travel from Canada to the United States comes amid a bubbling tit-for-tat trade squabble between the two nations. Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2025 Robby and McKay have a squabble about how to handle the situation: Robby thinks McKay is jumping the gun and risks ruining a confused teenage boy’s life. Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
Verb
Salman initially named him as crown prince, his successor, to appease squabbling family dynamics. Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025 That key decision broke the deadlock among the squabbling Colonies, paving the way for adoption of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Andrew Lawler, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for squabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squabble
Noun
  • The dispute has unfolded as CBS parent company Paramount Global seeks the FCC’s approval for a multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance.
    Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
  • The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said that its around 450 members in New Jersey Transit were walking off the job at 12:01 a.m., in a dispute over pay.
    Phil Helsel, NBC news, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • But if Trump follows through on his intent to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, that may leave Israel and Turkey to bicker over the country without adult supervision.
    Shira Efron, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Morrow and Turner bickered their way in and out of romance amid the tundra and always called one another by their last names, which was weirdly endearing.
    Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 6 May 2025
Noun
  • Knowing her grandson was outside, Mette called out to the group as the commotion grew, demanding the quarrel stop and for her grandchild to leave, sources said.
    Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
  • This time, however, testimony suggested a thornier layer to the quarrel: Phillip said the family had learned a few years earlier that the older brother was not Ferguson’s biological child.
    Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Ramaphosa and other defenders of the Expropriation Act have argued that the policies are needed to reverse the nation’s apartheid-era legacy of disparities in land ownership.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 11 May 2025
  • The Justice Department had argued that the case should proceed in Louisiana, as that is where Ozturk was confined.
    Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 10 May 2025
Noun
  • The jury also saw photos of injuries Ventura sustained from an altercation in December 2011 and photos of her with a black eye mostly concealed by sunglasses in Jamaica in 2013 or 2014.
    Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 15 May 2025
  • In 2012 he was involved in a brawl with Drake and his entourage at a N.Y. nightclub that injured eight people, followed by an altercation with Frank Ocean over a parking space in West Hollywood in 2013.
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 May 2025
Verb
  • Mothers whose children were killed by drunk drivers fight grief through Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or M.A.D.D.
    David Morgan, CBS News, 9 May 2025
  • Families fight, yes, but there’s a mean streak here that feels misplaced.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 9 May 2025
Noun
  • The pair’s latest dispute centers on deep disagreements over whether to focus on slashing property taxes or sales taxes.
    Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 8 May 2025
  • After two earlier attempts to pass this bill failed because of disagreements about whether confessions should be exempt from reporting mandates, the final version passed during the legislative session this spring.
    Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 8 May 2025
Verb
  • The first is that when U.S. soldiers returned from the war there, protesters spat upon them in disdain.
    Jonathan Zimmerman, Foreign Affairs, 19 May 2016
  • The flare comes after nearly a week of flares and coronal plasma ejections spat toward the planet that threatened disruptions to power and communications systems on Earth.
    Greg Wehner, Fox News, 15 May 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Squabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabble. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

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