cavil

American  

[kav-uhl] / ˈkæv əl /

verb (used without object)

caviled, caviling, cavilled, cavilling

1. to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at orabout ).

   He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.

   Synonyms:

   criticize, complain, carp

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verb (used with object)

caviled, caviling, cavilled, cavilling

1. to oppose by inconsequential, frivolous, or sham objections.

   to cavil each item of a proposed agenda.

noun

1. a trivial and annoying objection.

2. the raising of such objections.

cavil British  

/ ˈkævɪl /

verb

1. (intr; foll by at or about) to raise annoying petty objections; quibble; carp

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noun

1. a captious trifling objection

Other Word Forms

• caviler noun
• cavilingly adverb
• caviller noun
• cavilling adjective
• outcavil verb (used with object)
• uncaviling adjective
• uncavilling adjective

Etymology

Origin of cavil

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin cavillārī “to jeer, scoff, quibble,” derivative of cavilla “jesting, banter,” perhaps derivative of cav(us) “hollow”; cave ( def. )

Example Sentences

Among its cavils are that the AI-produced images have flaws that would have been caught by human animators, and also that Coke hasn’t accommodated “its customers’ aversion to AI.”

From Los Angeles Times

This proposal generated cavils in the chattering classes that it would drive home prices up to absorb the $25,000 grant, putatively keeping homes out of the reach of the beneficiaries.

From Los Angeles Times

What artist would want to tap into the flow of my caviling thoughts in the middle of a performance?

From Los Angeles Times

For all the cavils about cookie-cutter proposals, there was a refreshing diversity in the social-media pitches of the candidates.

From New York Times

“The history demonstrates beyond cavil that the founding generation understood that ‘legislatures’ would operate as normal legislatures, not independent legislatures, with respect to both procedure and substance,” he writes.

From New York Times