1
as in to complain
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to argue
to express different opinions about something often angrily
don't quibble over who gets to sit in front
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in objection
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of quibble
Bobby Allyn, NPR, 10 Jan. 2025
There were critiques: some philosophers quibbled with the specifics of Paul’s decision modelling, others with the solipsism of focussing so much on the expectant parent rather than on the child or the world writ large.
—Alice Gregory, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
My only quibble with this adaptation is the pacing, which suffers thanks to a few unnecessary backstory additions and a few too many long, lingering shots and pregnant pauses that even mess up the flow of some iconic songs.
—Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for quibble
Verb
For instance, the Supreme Court could quibble with how the lower court reached its decision upholding the law and order the court to revise its opinion.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 10 Jan. 2025
There were critiques: some philosophers quibbled with the specifics of Paul’s decision modelling, others with the solipsism of focussing so much on the expectant parent rather than on the child or the world writ large.
—Alice Gregory, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
Noun
My only quibble: in what world is resigning Stanley a tough decision for our front office?
—Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
My only quibble with this adaptation is the pacing, which suffers thanks to a few unnecessary backstory additions and a few too many long, lingering shots and pregnant pauses that even mess up the flow of some iconic songs.
—Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for quibble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quibble
Verb
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Fix Problems Many of us like to complain about broken systems, inefficient processes, or other things that annoy us at work.—
Joseph Liu,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
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Biden complained when the courts blocked his efforts to forgive student loan debt.—
Graham Underwood,
arkansasonline.com,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Indeed, some analysts remain bullish — for example, ARK Invest famously projects massive long-term upside for Tesla, and Wedbush’s Dan Ives argues that autonomous tech is the holy grail that will eventually vindicate Tesla’s valuation.—
Shahar Ziv,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
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In Syria, Abu Abdullah argued citizens were hoping for a non-sectarian framework for their future government.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Missouri Senate on Monday easily approved a state takeover plan for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department over the objections of the city's mayor and local senators.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
12 Mar. 2025
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Many Israelis see Gazan emigration as a good idea but not practical There has been little vocal objection from prominent opposition politicians in Israel.—
Daniel Estrin,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
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For one, both experts say that being too rigid can also lead to self-sabotaging behaviors, like rejecting otherwise great matches for superficial reasons or coming up with excuses to nitpick things that never mattered before.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Plus, getting to know each other tends to take priority over nitpicking the small stuff during the whirlwind honeymoon phase.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The 39-year-old victim and her boyfriend, identified by sources as 34-year-old Daquan Spence, bickered over smokes in their apartment on 155th St. near Baisley Blvd.—
Elizabeth Keogh,
New York Daily News,
6 Mar. 2025
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Without politics to bicker over or political visions to debate, the candidates mostly pitched themselves and their personal connections to the community.—
Jesse Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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On top of this, her mother and sister are fussing about her future relationship status, which leads to them plotting some dates for her.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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The world saw this five-man group as an ideal of friendship, a community working and living together, fussing and fighting but making rough beauty out of it.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The new administration’s push to strip EPA’s regulatory powers would resonate beyond U.S. borders, where the global community is fighting to prevent irreversible climate damage.—
Margo T. Oge,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
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Mills now fights to preserve her state’s refusal to keep men out of women’s sports.—
James Erwin,
National Review,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This is likely the first high profile arrest of a legal permanent resident in connection with the pro-Palestinian protests that rippled across the nation's campuses last year.—
Destinee Adams,
NPR,
13 Mar. 2025
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Mahmoud Khalil, one of the ringleaders of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University last year, will remain in ICE custody for now following a hearing in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.—
Michael Dorgan,
Fox News,
13 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quibble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quibble. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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