squabbling

verb

present participle of squabble
as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily the children squabbled loudly over who got to play with the toy first

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 squabbling The squabbling banter between the two is priceless, even endearing. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 28 July 2026 The Greek myths are rife with petty and meddlesome deities squabbling, playing favorites, punishing harshly, and otherwise wreaking havoc on the lives of mortal men. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2026 The actor ended up calling attention to his own hat after squabbling with cast member Sarah Sherman — who, to match the country singer's vibe, pulled up in a cowboy hat, leaving Gosling as the odd man out. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 With supply shrinking, the states continue squabbling. — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 26 June 2026 Parties generally avoid this kind of squabbling in wide-open governor’s races by letting the candidates compete and seeing who wins the primary, said Gregory Koger, a political science professor at the University of Miami. — Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 June 2026 Cobb County and Mableton have been squabbling over police services. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 16 June 2026 Then there are the lesser houses, the lower fiefdoms squabbling over the crumbs that fall from the big kids’ table. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 14 May 2026 The squabbling brothers of the north west. — Ian Irving, New York Times, 3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squabbling
  1. bickering
  2. arguing
  3. quarreling
  4. fighting
Verb
  • Back at the base, the team is still bickering with the other troopers.
    — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2026
  • After bickering with Percy over her involvement in the mission, Thalia ultimately drives away from the scene.
    — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026
Definition of bickering
Verb
  • On July 28, Mark Zuckerberg published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing that superintelligence should be distributed as widely as possible and that concentrating it in a handful of institutions is the greatest risk AI poses to humanity.
    — Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • That was, frankly, ridiculous, and our coverage said as much, arguing that this deep dive into one of Hollywood’s most notorious genre disasters deserved a much wider release.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 July 2026
Definition of arguing
Verb
  • Now might not seem the moment for Democrats to be quarrelling, but many of them believe that the only way to build the Party back up is to remake it.
    — Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
  • The lack of money has, at times, led to quarrelling between the services - most notably pitting the navy against the army and the Royal Air Force.
    — Ian King, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of quarreling
Verb
  • Knight has spent much of his main roster run accusing Reigns and the Bloodline of using strength in numbers without fighting fair fights.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Last week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete and a third was killed in the Peloponnese.
    — Elena Becatoros, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of fighting

Browse Nearby Words

squabbles
squabbling
squabs
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Cite this Entry

“Squabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabbling. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on squabbling

Nglish: Translation of squabbling for Spanish Speakers

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