as in dispute
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
frightened by noise of the squabble, the cat hid under the couch
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to bicker
to express different opinions about something often angrily
the children squabbled loudly over who got to play with the toy first
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of squabble
Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 14 Feb. 2025
The spot begins with a domestic squabble over a can with an aerosol nozzle.
—The New York Times, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
Soon enough, the scripts are gone, father and daughter are squabbling intimately with each other, and a steady gray rain is drizzling down the upstage windows.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squabble
Noun
But even the past shows signs of treading water, with the team returning to schoolgirl squabbles while their survival isn’t in immediate danger.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 14 Feb. 2025
The spot begins with a domestic squabble over a can with an aerosol nozzle.
—The New York Times, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
Verb
The same figure fits seamlessly into competing narratives, suggesting the totalizing intractability of their opposition—the two sides are left squabbling over ownership of the facts like a couple splitting marital assets.
—Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
Soon enough, the scripts are gone, father and daughter are squabbling intimately with each other, and a steady gray rain is drizzling down the upstage windows.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squabble
Noun
-
Approach with caution, look at reviews, and maybe don’t use your main credit card (or at least keep your bank’s dispute line handy).—
Francesca Krempa,
StyleCaster,
10 Apr. 2025
-
No arrests were made, and there was no further investigation into the dispute.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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At times, Jason and Tonya seem to border on George and Martha from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, bickering with each other as Mikal listens or, more often than not, tunes it out with earphones on, playing video games.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
30 Mar. 2025
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An alien spaceship has spiked an immensely popular bubblegum with an interdimensional ectoplasm that turns everyone who chews it into zombies, and the only ones who can save humanity are bickering foster brothers Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced by Eric Bauza).—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
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As the Venetians and the Ottoman Turks squabble over Cyprus in the background, the men before us quarrel over everything—a woman, a job, a handkerchief.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2025
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The basketball star has a reputation for being able to silence media noise in the most crucial moments, but the family element of this quarrel seems to have hit a little too close to home this time.—
Christian Orozco,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Now, perhaps swayed by Trump’s popular vote victory – the first for a Republican candidate in 20 years – many US conservatives appear to have changed their position, arguing the US is more a democracy than a republic.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
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Anne argues that Tarantino is passing the project on to Fincher in order to avoid making the film his supposed 10th, and likely won’t force Netflix’s hand into giving the film a more plum theatrical window.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The two then had an altercation, during which one of the children was knocked over and Villalobos fled, according to authorities.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2025
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Although officially estranged, the couple were still living together with their three sons under the age of 11 at the time of the July 16, 2023, altercation outside their house.—
Liam Quinn,
People.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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While there is no vaccine to prevent the common cold nor a specific medicine to cure it, there are ways to manage your symptoms while your body fights the illness.—
Lauren Schlanger,
Verywell Health,
3 Apr. 2025
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Lansky fought attempts by the Israeli Interior Ministry to oust him from the country as an undesirable.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Netanyahu fired Ronen Bar, the previous holder of the post, last month after disagreements over who should be held responsible for failing to prevent the October 2023 attack by Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Apr. 2025
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An Israeli official denied that there was any disagreement between the two leaders.—
Mick Krever,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The first is that when U.S. soldiers returned from the war there, protesters spat upon them in disdain.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
Foreign Affairs,
19 May 2016
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The flare comes after nearly a week of flares and coronal plasma ejections spat toward the planet that threatened disruptions to power and communications systems on Earth.—
Greg Wehner,
Fox News,
15 May 2024
Cite this Entry
“Squabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabble. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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