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
Relevance
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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The air force has noted that its evolving electronic warfare countermeasures play some role in the increasing number of Russian strike drones going off course. Minsk has complained of Ukrainian drones violating its airspace.David Brennan, ABC News, 5 Dec. 2024
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Several attendees of a holiday event in O'Fallon, Missouri, have complained about poor organization and safety hazards at its opening night on Friday.Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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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
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At one point during his five-season West Wing run, Amos arranged a meeting in Washington with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, who jokingly shared his one quibble with the actor.Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 1 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
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This isn’t to nitpick but to suggest there are deeper questions about the way true crime participates in cultural imaginings of empathy that could be explored even within these productions.Alessa Dominguez, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Any of those preferences would normally be difficult and cause a backlash or quarrel with a fellow human.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
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Combs’ lawyers previewed today’s hearing by offering to put a forensic video analyst on the stand to walk the judge through the unedited footage of the hotel incident and show that Combs and Ventura were not having a violent domestic quarrel in the hallway.Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 Nov. 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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But experts have expressed doubts on Moscow's ability or willingness to dedicate the resources necessary to save Assad amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
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This is the music that carried us through break ups and mean girls, micro aggressions and self doubt, but also lifted us through mile 24 of a marathon and bachelorette weekends, slumber parties and carpool lines.Laura Trujillo, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Or the most notorious night at the Scene, when a drunk Morrison pretended to give Hendrix a blow job onstage, moaning all the while into the microphone.Sarah Weinman, Rolling Stone, 1 Dec. 2024
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Murray would moan and berate himself and do all the things that felt to me entirely natural.Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 23 July 2024
Noun
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Attorneys from both sides met for over four hours Tuesday before a federal magistrate judge in New York, seeking to resolve disputes over the collection of potential evidence.Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
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And, after that happened, in both cases there was a dispute between the soldier who captured the king and his direct commander over who deserved the glory for the victory.Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 5 Dec. 2024
Articles Related to cavil
Thesaurus Entries Near cavil
Cite this Entry
“Cavil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cavil. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
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