cavil
verb (used without object)
to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at orabout ).
caviling
-
present participleof cavil.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So what was I caviling about to myself during intermission?
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025
Someone better warn these caviling critics about Hamlet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2021
“Why do you wear that stuff?” she was asked, a question that has passed between many a caviling mother and obdurate teenage daughter.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2016
It would come off as cheeky caviling to basically say, “I don’t like the way you defended me and my property from a criminal.”
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2016
Herein Shelley is far removed from the caviling temper of his fellow rebel Byron.
From Outlines of English and American Literature : an Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived by William Joseph Long
