as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
you know it drives me crazy when you niggle like that
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in quibble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in qualm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of niggle
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for niggle 
Verb
From 2021 onwards, only a calf and niggling knee injury have caused Fullkrug to miss games.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Noun
When the lineup had to be rotated to rest players nursing niggles, backups slotted in with virtually no noticeable decline in team play.
—Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for niggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggle
Verb
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Palestinians complain of ill-treatment In exchange for the hostages' release, Israel is freeing 183 Palestinian prisoners, some convicted of involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people, as well as 111 detained in Gaza during the war.—
Hussam al-Masri,
USA TODAY,
10 Feb. 2025
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Many conspiracy theorists have complained about Black history being relegated to the calendar’s shortest month.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 2025
Noun
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For Minnelli true believers such quibbles may not matter.—
Manohla Dargis,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
-
For all my minor quibbles, the movie has been lodged in my brain ever since May, with certain beats replaying in my head in much the same way that The Pink Opaque got stuck in Owen’s.—
Samantha Allen,
Them,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Based on appearance alone, us Robb Reporters had a few qualms with Ethel M’s chocolate.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
8 Feb. 2025
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And Stewart had some qualms about how she was presented in the film.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2025
Verb
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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
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Palmieri also has a 16-team no-trade list but, like Nelson, certainly should not be fussed about being moved to a Cup contender for a few months.—
Arthur Staple,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In January 2021, after took office, some Republican senators attempted to delay his Cabinet confirmations by slow-walking the process through procedural delays and objections rather than filibuster speeches.—
Ewan Palmer,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
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Now judges will be able to decide while also being able to consider objections from both the defense and the prosecutors.—
Alex Malm,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, and sometimes death.—
Ella Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Feb. 2025
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Osbourne previously announced that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease — a progressive nervous system disorder that causes tremors, stiffness, speech changes, or slowing of movement — in 2020.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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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
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While long-time fans found reasons to nitpick, newcomers could be forgiven for confusion.—
Andy McCullough,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The studio is hoping for a solid swing with Captain America, which faced its share of challenges in getting to the big screen.—
Pamela McClintock,
The Hollywood Reporter,
14 Feb. 2025
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Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship—which is the subject of multiple legal challenges—received 31 percent support, while 54 percent of voters oppose it.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to niggle
Thesaurus Entries Near niggle
Cite this Entry
“Niggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggle. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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