as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
caviled for hours about a single sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in quibble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of cavil
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2021
However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.
—Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 7 Oct. 2020
Verb
Naysayers often cavil that California’s economic growth depends almost entirely on Silicon Valley and the capital gains income of its wealthiest residents, but its primacy in high technology encompasses fields outside Northern California, such as biotech.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2021
However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.
—Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 7 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cavil
Verb
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Girding for battle at USC Pay is at the center of union organizing at USC, where non-tenure track professors complain of semester-to-semester contracts with little job security, minimal or nonexistent raises and moves by the university to cut benefits.Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2024
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If corporate leaders complain about these directives’ effects on their bottom lines, Trump’s team could force CISA to scale back its use of this authority.Eric Geller, WIRED, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Our only quibbles were that the forearms were a tad restrictive for some testers, the fabric sounded a bit crinkly, and the lining behind the zipper sometimes caused jams.Mark Eller, Outside Online, 25 Nov. 2024
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Vocally, no quibbles — plus, Jan’s expressions and movements gave us more feeling than Jake, who’d been trapped behind his guitar.Charlie Mason, TVLine, 19 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Or perhaps division, as outsiders begin to nitpick the juggernaut and single out which players are most important to the pursuit.Kyle Tucker, The Athletic, 4 Apr. 2024
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Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Noun
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That’s the main quarrel of opponents of such conservation projects.Christine Ro, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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Experts at the conference floated the possibility that the aquatic quarrel could make its way to the Supreme Court, though that’s viewed as a crisis that should be averted.Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Not all Cybertruck owners will be too fussed about that, though.Carlton Reid, WIRED, 25 Nov. 2024
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The gizmo also includes haptic alerts that can wake you—but not your partner—if your child is fussing.Chris Stokel-Walker, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The path forward was cast into doubt by Trump's statement, with speculation growing that Johnson would scrap the original version of the bill and bring up a narrower funding extension that includes disaster relief.Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2024
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Strengthening your character equips you to navigate the terrain of uncertainty and doubt that will naturally arise.Mary Crossan, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Verb
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There also isn't a dry forehead in the studio, as the tough session has left them all moaning and groaning.David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
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Everything seems fine and dandy until nightfall, when Nana spends her evenings crawling around on her hands and knees and moaning.James Grebey, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Research has distinguished between three simple strategies to deal with neighbor disputes: avoidance of the party whose behavior is experienced as unneighborly; confronting the neighbor face-to-face; and relying on a third party to sort out the issue, e.g. the landlord or even police.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
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Nearly a decade later, a dark storm cloud has descended upon his increasingly unpopular administration, with the resignation of a top Cabinet minister over a dispute about how to manage US president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats.Lex Harvey, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Cavil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cavil. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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