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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in quibble
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Example 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
Noun
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
-
A number of Tesla shareholders, including some Democrats who oversee the investment of public sector pension fund money in Tesla stock, complained in May to Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm that Musk’s other activities are hurting the company.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
14 July 2025
-
Essentially, the legislation does away with a process that some have complained can be time-consuming and expensive—at least in some cases.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 July 2025
Noun
-
Send your wine questions and quibbles to [email protected] Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans.—
Seth Eli Barlow,
Arkansas Online,
24 June 2025
-
No quibbles here though with seeing Jonathan Groff as Bobby Darin, one of the great highlights of the Broadway season and a performance America deserves to witness on Sunday night, especially since Groff may win his second Tony in a row.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
7 June 2025
Verb
-
There may be more to it and perhaps PCS will nitpick.—
Janhoi McGregor,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
-
The defense nitpicked at different parts of the evidence charts, noting that some sections were lacking.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
17 June 2025
Noun
-
Your celestial ruler, Mercury, will also station retrograde in your communication sector (for the win), triggering misunderstandings and unnecessary quarrels with siblings or neighbors.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
8 July 2025
-
According to writer and historian Geoffrey C. Ward, Johnson had his quarrels inside and outside the ring.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Verb
-
Helen bending at her wide waist, fussing again with the shoe, a cream leather high-top, cursing quietly under her breath, hair falling into her face.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
-
As a storyteller, Tyagi isn’t too fussed about making his plot persuasive — the ease with which Nair and his co-counsel Dilreet Gill, played by Ananya Panday, manage to uncover evidence defies logic.—
Anupama Chopra,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
There was always a little bit of doubt there, even from the beginning.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
4 July 2025
-
Given today’s network of satellites and temperature sensors, when could scientists have first known, beyond a reasonable doubt, that increases in atmospheric CO2 from fossil fuel burning and land use change were altering our global climate?—
Ben Santer,
Scientific American,
4 July 2025
Verb
-
Now-tired 2010 fads that Lorde pioneered, including bittersweet tropical-pop textures and moaning vocal snippets, are everywhere.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 June 2025
-
After one season, he was forcefully rejected by the community, which moaned to the press (and the local police) that the tranquil pondside inn was becoming a celebrity- and influencer-infested late-night party spot just like his club in the city.—
Brock Colyar,
Curbed,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
Threads on the South Park subreddit and social media have lit up with foul-mouthed complaints from international fans, most of them directed at Paramount and David Ellison’s Skydance Media, whose $8 billion buyout of Paramount is at the heart of the South Park dispute.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 July 2025
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But there are still some sour grapes about the big tactical dispute in February.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cavil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cavil. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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