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quibble
[ kwib-uhl ]
noun
- an instance of the use of ambiguous, prevaricating, or irrelevant language or arguments to evade a point at issue.
Synonyms: ambiguity, shift, sophism, equivocation, evasion
- the general use of such arguments.
- petty or carping criticism; a minor objection.
verb (used without object)
- to equivocate.
- to carp; cavil.
quibble
/ ˈkwɪbəl /
verb
- to make trivial objections; prevaricate
- archaic.to play on words; pun
noun
- a trivial objection or equivocation, esp one used to avoid an issue
- archaic.a pun
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Derived Forms
- ˈquibblingly, adverb
- ˈquibbler, noun
- ˈquibbling, adjectivenoun
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Other Words From
- quibbler noun
- outquibble verb (used with object) outquibbled outquibbling
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of quibble1
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Example Sentences
A weird thing to quibble about, considering he is a moon landing denier.
There are several other things in the Wiki vs. doctors article to quibble about, which the authors generously note.
This quibble aside, “Breakfast with Mugabe” offers food for thought.
You can quibble about beginnings, middles and ends but what we're talking about is over a year ago.
You can quibble with the “vast” part, I guess, depending on how you define that word.
Because of a quibble on his part this loathsome thing would ruin his future, dash his hopes to the ground, blacken his life.
He saw that the reason which he had given for disbelief was untenable, and he was too straightforward to quibble about it.
He had hoped for a vigorous denial on Thorpe's part, but this halfway confession seemed to him a mere quibble.
That's a mere quibble, Miss Bridgeman: the association is just the same, and she ought to feel it.
Professor Holcomb was a man of terse, heavy thinking; he spoke what he thought and he did not quibble.
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