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quibbling

[kwib-ling]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quibbling ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

characterized by or consisting of quibbles; carping; niggling: quibbling debates.

noun

the act of a person who quibbles.
an instance of quibbling: a relationship marked by frequent quibblings.

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RELATED WORDS

complaining, niggling, griping, fault-finding, hairsplitting, nit-picking, captious, elusive, evasive, sophistic, casuistic, prevaricative, sophistical

Origin of quibbling

First recorded in 1650–60; quibble + -ing2, -ing1
Related formsquib·bling·ly, adverbun·quib·bling, adjective

quibble

[kwib-uhl]

noun

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.

verb (used without object), quib·bled, quib·bling.

to equivocate.
to carp; cavil.

Origin of quibble

1605–15; perhaps derivative (cf. -le) of quib gibe, apparently akin to quip
Related formsquib·bler, nounout·quib·ble, verb (used with object), out·quib·bled, out·quib·bling.

Synonyms for quibble

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quibble ON THESAURUS.COM
1. evasion, equivocation, sophism, shift, ambiguity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quibbling

Contemporary Examples of quibbling

Historical Examples of quibbling

British Dictionary definitions for quibbling

quibble

verb (intr)

to make trivial objections; prevaricate
archaic to play on words; pun

noun

a trivial objection or equivocation, esp one used to avoid an issue
archaic a pun
Derived Formsquibbler, nounquibbling, adjective, nounquibblingly, adverb

Word Origin for quibble

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 quibbling

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.

quibble

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper