as in nitpicking
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as in ambiguity
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1
as in complaining
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
he spent the entire evening quibbling about the historical inaccuracies in the television series on World War II
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily
don't quibble over who gets to sit in front
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of quibbling
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Sep. 2025
When the murder of 100,000 people, many of them women and children, is mentioned or denounced, or when someone dares to use terms such as genocide, ethnocide, ethnic cleansing or similar, most people choose to take issue with the characterization, quibbling over semantics.
—Uriel Kon
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
More support tickets, more quibbling, more negotiating.
—Verb
Joy Randolph and John Early, as the two Afterlife Coordinators, have a quibbling charisma, but the movie should have done more with all its possible versions of paradise, figuring out how to use them comedically instead of just as easy punchlines.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for quibbling
Noun
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As usual, Coon thrives in ambiguity, layering a seemingly straightforward woman with depth.—
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Participants also took a personality assessment called the High Potential Trait Indicator (HTPI), which measures six traits including competitiveness and tolerance of ambiguity.—
Verb
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But the same town also was sued in November by Stillson LLC, a company complaining because zoners approved an 8-30g project.—
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From bartenders in Virginia-Highland to servers in Alpharetta, several employees of food and drink businesses reported customers complaining about water that tastes like mildew.—
Verb
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Someone on the bench started bickering with Cameroon’s first goalscorer, Junior Tchamadeu, during a break in play.—
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The Federal Reserve chair and the president stood stiffly, side by side, in matching hard hats, bickering on a building site, for all the world to see.—
Adjective
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With her signature long waves gathered into a subtle bun at the nape of her neck, this style puts the focus on the sculptural wave framing Seyfried's face opposite a deep side part.—
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Grande wore a glossy pink shade on her lips, sculpted cheeks with subtle shimmer, and long lashes.—
Noun
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Despite the murkiness of the water, Chris jumped in to swim.—
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That’s the murkiness that makes any grand statement about the previous 17 games difficult.—
Verb
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As the migrants boarded, a man hoisted one of the passengers in the air, a fussing 8-month-old baby whose face was flushed red from the heat.—
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With five blades sandwiched between two moisturizing bars, this razor speeds up the entire process (no fussing around with shaving cream), nourishing dry skin and making nicks a rare occurrence.—
Verb
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Trump has openly lobbied for the Nobel Peace Prize, arguing that his actions have helped resolve multiple international conflicts, claims that have drawn public backing from several world leaders.—
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Prosecutors deny Bondi has conflict of interest Federal prosecutors slammed the defense's claims as meritless and misleading, arguing there is no conflict of interest with the attorney general because there is no present or future financial gain.—
Adjective
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The story zooms in, and telescopes out magnificently, revealing nuanced and precise character studies of the boy and his family, as well as revealing the vast network of history, culture, and individuals that led to this tragic moment.—
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Across the board, the textures are smooth, not gritty; the flavors are nuanced, not overwhelming.—
Cite this Entry
“Quibbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibbling. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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