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
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
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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Spanberger has called for the state government to stay out of decisions about who uses what bathrooms and locker rooms, arguing that's best left up to parents, teachers, students, and their school districts.—
Margaret Barthel,
NPR,
16 Oct. 2025
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Easley has voted against a few proposals made by Superintendent Hill, including the SYDKIMYL contract extension and this year’s budget, arguing its teacher raises were too small.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Will the two be allowed to wed, or will Ellen’s brothers, quarrelling over their father’s chair, bargain her off to other suitors to improve their chances?—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Just, even that last play, keeping his composure, fighting like hell to get the ball off, and threw a hell of a ball.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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Most of the fighting fans seemed to be escorted away from the section The scene returned to normal, and Cromwell said everyone went back to simply praying for the Bengals to win.—
Ed Lavandera,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabbling. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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