as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily
the children squabbled loudly over who got to play with the toy first
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Recent Examples of squabbling
But decisions like these are usually carried out in the face of competing values, squabbling constituencies, and genuine uncertainty about the facts.
—
David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025
Norris lost a place to Leclerc and spent more than 20 laps squabbling with the Ferrari driver before overtaking him.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
Rather than the large swath of private equity firms that backed LBOs over the years, with investors sometimes squabbling over strategy and straining under heavy debt loads, the new-model buyouts have fewer and deeper-pocketed sponsors.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2025
The year is 1868 and Benjamin Guinness, the richest man in the country, has just died, leaving his four squabbling adult children to try and carry on the family’s legacy.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
In the autumn of his life, Henry James went back to many of his novels and short stories, submitting them to revisions sufficiently far-reaching to keep scholars happily squabbling forever.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
The Anglo-Saxons, who have been given the multiracial treatment by the BBC’s casting directors, are squabbling natives whose weakness invites foreign interference.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
One cameraman lamented not turning his lens towards the squabbling organizers.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Pinking, bluing, both at once, as if two birds were squabbling over the nest of sky.
—Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025
Norris lost a place to Leclerc and spent more than 20 laps squabbling with the Ferrari driver before overtaking him.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
Rather than the large swath of private equity firms that backed LBOs over the years, with investors sometimes squabbling over strategy and straining under heavy debt loads, the new-model buyouts have fewer and deeper-pocketed sponsors.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2025
The year is 1868 and Benjamin Guinness, the richest man in the country, has just died, leaving his four squabbling adult children to try and carry on the family’s legacy.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
In the autumn of his life, Henry James went back to many of his novels and short stories, submitting them to revisions sufficiently far-reaching to keep scholars happily squabbling forever.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
The Anglo-Saxons, who have been given the multiracial treatment by the BBC’s casting directors, are squabbling natives whose weakness invites foreign interference.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
One cameraman lamented not turning his lens towards the squabbling organizers.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Pinking, bluing, both at once, as if two birds were squabbling over the nest of sky.
—Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squabbling
Verb
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Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy, Reese Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson, and the other members of The Morning Show’s newsroom and its network are once again bickering and backstabbing.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
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Coaches are also bickering about money, a topic that would have felt out of place 10 years ago.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The two were arguing inside a car and then got out of the car, where the fight escalated, police said.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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One report, citing a source close to Sheridan, even claimed the writer was annoyed that Paramount sent too many of its top suits to a meeting designed to keep Sheridan onboard, arguing that Ellison had messed up by bringing more than two execs along with him.—
Josef Adalian,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The discovery was entirely by chance, and happened when an officer responded to Mirella's parents' residence after neighbors reported quarreling, per several outlets.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
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The political malaise risks metastasizing into an economic crisis because the quarreling political parties cannot agree on a way forward, such as passing a budget and addressing the country's alarming budget deficit and mounting national debt.—
John Toher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Even a small showing of functional toughness from Tyler Kleven, fighting Joe Veleno after a thunderous check on Canadiens defenceman Alexandre Carrier, proved to be somewhat ill-advised.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Learning to trust someone who hurt her so deeply again, especially when pesky romantic feelings won’t stop fighting to the surface.—
Brittany Johnson,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabbling. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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