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
One cameraman lamented not turning his lens towards the squabbling organizers.
—
Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Among the cast of preposterous characters, Sofie Grabol and Soren Malling are Margrethe and Werner, the squabbling couple who own the Airbnb.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 2025
Pinking, bluing, both at once, as if two birds were squabbling over the nest of sky.
—Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Among the cast of preposterous characters, Sofie Grabol and Soren Malling are Margrethe and Werner, the squabbling couple who own the Airbnb.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 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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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
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The casting here is perfection itself, with Cumberbatch and Colman bickering back and forth with all the drawing-room style of a new age Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall, or maybe the Burton and Taylor of The Taming of the Shrew with a dab of Virginia Woolf.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Who doesn’t have childhood memories of arguing about Boardwalk and Park Place until the popcorn bowl got knocked over during an evening of wholesome family entertainment?—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
11 Sep. 2025
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In one video, a female student and the professor can be heard arguing over gender identity being taught in a children’s literature class.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 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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The approximate number of Americans who died fighting the Nazis in World War II.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
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Proctor also investigated the Walshe case and other criminal cases in Norfolk County and those defense attorneys are fighting to get information from Proctor’s phone backup archives that could exonerate their clients.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabbling. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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