squabble 1 of 2

squabble

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun squabble contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of squabble are altercation, quarrel, and wrangle. While all these words mean "a noisy dispute usually marked by anger," squabble stresses childish and unseemly dispute over petty matters, but it need not imply bitterness or anger.

a brief squabble over what to do next

When could altercation be used to replace squabble?

The words altercation and squabble can be used in similar contexts, but altercation implies fighting with words as the chief weapon, although it may also connote blows.

a loud public altercation

When can quarrel be used instead of squabble?

While the synonyms quarrel and squabble are close in meaning, quarrel implies heated verbal contention, stressing strained or severed relations which may persist beyond the contention.

a quarrel nearly destroyed the relationship

When is it sensible to use wrangle instead of squabble?

The words wrangle and squabble are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, wrangle suggests undignified and often futile disputation with a noisy insistence on differing opinions.

wrangle interminably about small issues

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of squabble
Noun
Tenants over the decades included poet Kenneth Patchen, the cult-magazine editor L. Scott Bailey, and a pair of married actors who wrote and produced a 1949 television show about their squabbles upstairs. Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 19 Feb. 2025 Its all because the OAA, despite broad bipartisan congressional support, got caught up in a squabble over an emergency end-of-year spending bill between President-elect Trump and Elon Musk on one hand, and Capitol Hill Republican leaders on the other. Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Verb
The Democratic House Minority Leader said his GOP counterparts were too busy squabbling amongst themselves to bring a proposal to the table that will keep the government funded past a March 14 deadline. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 7 Feb. 2025 In the car, the two cycle through a range of artists from the Bee Gees to Tame Impala, and often squabble over the chance to play new songs for Ramirez. Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for squabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squabble
Noun
  • The White House is trying to have it every way possible in a high-stakes dispute over its speedy deportation of hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador.
    Philip Elliott, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
  • The dispute came after President Donald Trump invoked a centuries-old law that would give him the ability to deport any noncitizen with little to no due process.
    Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Force an impatient couple to bicker in Route 23 traffic.
    Tyler Buchanan, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Somehow McKay keeps the movie spinning even after Dale and Brennan stop bickering and start sticking together: Adam Scott, as Brennan’s snobby, overachieving brother, makes a terrific common enemy.
    Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The quarrel swiftly escalated when Perez allegedly struck her twice on the left side of her temple and pulled her hair.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2025
  • As the quarrel over seating escalated, the attacker, who was wearing a black face mask, slashed the victim on his left hand with an unknown weapon.
    Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Current Social Science Research Approaches Are Limited For decades, Lahlou argues, the social sciences and their applications in fields as diverse as marketing and industrial psychology have focused primarily on individual psychology and interpersonal dynamics.
    Benjamin Voyer, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Some Democrats, including potential 2028 presidential contenders Rahm Emanuel and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, argue that the party needs to moderate or focus less on such issues.
    Alex Thompson, Axios, 22 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The 18-year-old’s boyfriend was seen in the footage attempting to stop the altercation.
    Angel Saunders, People.com, 14 Mar. 2025
  • The sole witness to the altercation was the car’s driver, who testified at the trial through an Urdu language translator.
    Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • And contrary to popular belief, siblings spaced more closely actually tend to fight more, not less.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025
  • That match was famously fought in Kinshasa, Zaire, which is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 22 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • In a Thursday, March 20 trailer, fans of Sister Wives got a sneak peek of what’s to come in the second half of season 19 — and further insight into Meri and Kody's disagreement concerning the Flagstaff, Ariz., compound.
    Charna Flam, People.com, 21 Mar. 2025
  • But there are a lot of obstacles to overcome first, such as sharp disagreements over territory and Ukraine's future security.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Squabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabble. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.

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