quibble
[kwib-uh l]
- an instance of the use of ambiguous, prevaricating, or irrelevant language or arguments to evade a point at issue.
- the general use of such arguments.
- petty or carping criticism; a minor objection.
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- to equivocate.
- to carp; cavil.
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Origin of quibble
Synonyms
See more synonyms for quibble on Thesaurus.com1. evasion, equivocation, sophism, shift, ambiguity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for quibble
Contemporary Examples
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.
One’s a Weiner, the Other a Hero: Why Bill and Hillary Have Nothing in Common With Anthony and HumaMichael Tomasky
July 25, 2013
Historical Examples
Would you wish by trick or quibble to juggle me out of these last acres?
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
They draw this distinction when it is too late, and use it as a quibble to gloss over their fault.
The Eternal CityHall Caine
You don't want to wrong me—and yourself too—by sticking to this quibble about vendor's shares.
The Market-PlaceHarold Frederic
The major was too enthusiastic to quibble over how the knowledge was gained.
Garrison's FinishW. B. M. Ferguson
The viewers had awarded the government bounty without a quibble.
Billy Topsail & CompanyNorman Duncan
quibble
- to make trivial objections; prevaricate
- archaic to play on words; pun
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- a trivial objection or equivocation, esp one used to avoid an issue
- archaic a pun
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Word Origin
C17: probably from obsolete quib, perhaps from Latin quibus (from quī who, which), as used in legal documents, with reference to their obscure phraseology
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
Word Origin and History for quibble
n.
1610s, "a pun, a play on words," probably a diminutive of obsolete quib "evasion of point at issue," based on an overuse of Latin quibus? in legal jargon, which supposedly gave it the association with trivial argument. Meaning "equivocation, evasion of the point" is attested from 1660s.
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v.
"equivocate, evade the point, turn from the point in question or the plain truth," 1650s, from quibble (n.). Earlier "to pun" (1620s). Related: Quibbled; quibbling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper