quibble
Americannoun
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an instance of the use of ambiguous, prevaricating, or irrelevant language or arguments to evade a point at issue.
- Synonyms:
- ambiguity, shift, sophism, equivocation, evasion
-
the general use of such arguments.
-
petty or carping criticism; a minor objection.
verb (used without object)
-
to equivocate.
-
to carp; cavil.
verb
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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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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quibblesimple
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quibblessimple
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have quibbledperfect
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has quibbledperfect
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am quibblingprogressive
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are quibblingprogressive
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is quibblingprogressive
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have been quibblingperfect progressive
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has been quibblingperfect progressive
Past
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quibbledsimple
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had quibbledperfect
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was quibblingprogressive
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were quibblingprogressive
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had been quibblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quibble
1605–15; perhaps derivative ( cf. -le) of quib gibe, apparently akin to quip
Explanation
A quibble is a small argument or fight. As a verb, it means to pick a mini-fight over something that doesn't really matter. "Let's not quibble over price," people will say, usually when they plan to gouge you. It's better to watch figure skating with the sound off, rather than listening to the announcers quibble over a not-fully-rotated knee or the slightly diminished altitude of a jump. Sometimes a quibble between neighbors over two feet of property can escalate into a major feud.
Vocabulary lists containing quibble
Fahrenheit 451
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List 7
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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.
See Examples For:
People may want to quibble with me about this, but I believe marinated beans occupy a category adjacent to, yet ontologically distinct from, bean salad.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026
The band, expanded to include touring keyboardist Loren Gold, seemed exhilarated, if a little stiff at times, a first-night quibble that will surely self-correct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Anyone can quibble about numbers and calculations around the edges.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
But the Surge’s bylaws are clear that no nit be left unpicked, and so we have to quibble with his framing.
From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2026
It was less diplomatic congratulations than he’d received from Reynie and Kate—who had cheered and clapped him on the back—but Sticky was too relieved to quibble.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
Forget the quibbles about not being pleasing on the eye or too many set-pieces.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
While some of the quibbles with ServiceNow’s latest earnings are more company-specific, including margin impacts related to recent deal closures, other aspects may have wider implications for the sector.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 23, 2026
During the 2000s, the agency’s oncology chief, Richard Pazdur, torpedoed treatments based on quibbles with their trial designs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025
And the group commutations, whatever one thinks of them as criminal justice policy, suffered from defects stemming from hasty execution that open the door to legal quibbles and political exploitation.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2025
For the first time, Lawrence heard a physicist with a solid grasp of subatomic behavior express support for his idea rather than smothering it in quibbles.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Warsh quibbled with the framing and retreated to a milder version of his earlier argument, describing the current moment as “the most disruptive moment in modern economic history.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Close hasn’t quibbled with her team’s seeding despite its impressive 31-1 regular-season record against a loaded schedule.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
Other experts have quibbled with certain details, questioning the plausibility of a “bolt from the blue” attack or noting that the U.S. would almost certainly launch many more interceptors.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026
"They sent the money right out. They never quibbled anything, they've been brilliant."
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024
They always quibbled, but actually they were very close—closer than most brothers and sisters.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Semantics are more important than they may seem; it’s not just about quibbling over language.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
It was a mistake to think that you could give the beach cottage to these quibbling brothers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
But she dismissed arguments that regular sugar is less processed as "completely quibbling", noting that both products require stripping out fibre and other nutritional benefits.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2025
I recognize that this is confusing, and all of the above may seem like minor linguistic quibbling to those less aware of the history.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2025
This wasn’t the time or the place for moral quibbling.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.