quibbling

[kwib-ling]

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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.

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

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1. evasion, equivocation, sophism, shift, ambiguity.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for quibbling

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

Examples from the Web for quibbling

Contemporary Examples of quibbling

Quibbling over dates aside, 19th century Americans did insistently observe a day of remembrance.
The Real Memorial Day: Oliver Wendell Holmes's Salute To A Momentous American Anniversary
Malcolm Jones
May 26, 2014

Historical Examples of quibbling

Washington probably had no sympathy with the quibbling of Congress.
Washington and his Comrades in Arms
George Wrong
I need only repeat, this is no time for personal gain and quibbling.
Medal of Honor
Dallas McCord Reynolds
This is not a quibbling of words, but a radical distinction.
The Jessica Letters: An Editor's Romance
Paul Elmer More
It is easy to say that this is quibbling, but in reality is it so?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 389, March 1848
Various
Mr. Christian's wit, in general, seemed to him a poor kind of quibbling.
Felix Holt, The Radical
George Eliot

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

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

"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.