cavil
to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at or about): He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.
to oppose by inconsequential, frivolous, or sham objections: to cavil each item of a proposed agenda.
a trivial and annoying objection.
the raising of such objections.
Origin of cavil
1Other words for cavil
Other words from cavil
- cav·il·er; especially British, cav·il·ler, noun
- cav·il·ing·ly; especially British, cav·il·ling·ly, adverb
- outcavil, verb (used with object), out·cav·iled, out·cav·il·ing or (especially British) out·cav·illed, out·cav·il·ling.
- un·cav·il·ing, adjective
- un·cav·il·ling, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cavil in a sentence
He was angry and impatient with the "cavilling spirit of mediocrity," that takes pleasure in the lapses of "the mighty-souled."
The Life of Mazzini | Bolton KingAt length, without any measures of force, the cavilling of Spain ceased and she acquiesced in the transfer.
Thomas Jefferson | Edward S. Ellis et. al.Mr. Caxton (descending from his stilts with an air as mildly reproachful as if I had been cavilling at the virtues of Socrates).
The Caxtons, Complete | Edward Bulwer-LyttonNo cavilling about the national debt, however incurred; that is sacred as honor, and must be paid, principal and interest.
Letters and Literary Memorials of Samuel J. Tilden, v. 1 | Samuel J. TildenAs for Marble, it was not in his nature to acquiesce in such an arrangement, without much cavilling and contention.
Afloat And Ashore | James Fenimore Cooper
British Dictionary definitions for cavil
/ (ˈkævɪl) /
(intr; foll by at or about) to raise annoying petty objections; quibble; carp
a captious trifling objection
Origin of cavil
1Derived forms of cavil
- caviller, noun
- cavilling, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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