- present participle of niggle.
niggling
Americanadjective
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petty; trivial; inconsequential.
to quibble about a niggling difference in terminology.
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demanding too much care, attention, time, etc..
niggling chores about the house.
adjective
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petty
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fussy
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irritating
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requiring painstaking work
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persistently troubling
a niggling back pain
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of niggling
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.
The insurance cost is one of those niggling concerns that could put off would-be buyers.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
In a maelstrom, one might think such niggling questions of jurisdiction and their attendant turf wars would be set aside.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
On a separate farewell podcast for paid subscribers, Maron and his longtime producer Brendan McDonald explained that the relentless workload was tiring and articulated a niggling feeling that the show belonged to a different era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
The prospect of cuts has helped push world markets ever higher this year, offsetting niggling worries about stretched valuations in the tech sector.
From Barron's ● Dec. 29, 2025
They were younger, coarser men who enforced every niggling regulation, whose job was to harass and demoralize us.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
