niggled; niggling
ˈni-g(ə-)liŋ 
1
a
: trifle
b
: to spend too much effort on minor details
2
: to find fault constantly in a petty way : carp
She haggles, she niggles, she wears our patience down …—
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf3
: gnaw
: to give stingily or in tiny portions
chiefly British
: a trifling doubt, objection, or complaint
Examples of niggle in a Sentence
Verb
She had been niggled by worry her entire life.
He's always niggling over small details.
Noun
I've had a knee niggle for the past few days.
He has a bit of a niggle in his back.
I have a few minor niggles about the performance.
Recent Examples on the Web
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
The new calculation, made at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, could help solve a niggling mystery about this particle’s mass.
—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
Those niggles might point some people to another watch, but all the other features (including the small, light design and the very friendly $250 price) will make the Coros Pace 4 an easy sell for every runner from the weekend warrior to the aspiring Olympic qualifier.
—
Jakob Schiller,
Outside,
15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for niggle
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show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
The most recent of those, Sunday’s 1-0 defeat away to Leeds, still niggles.
—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
The new calculation, made at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, could help solve a niggling mystery about this particle’s mass.
—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
The most recent of those, Sunday’s 1-0 defeat away to Leeds, still niggles.
—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
Those niggles might point some people to another watch, but all the other features (including the small, light design and the very friendly $250 price) will make the Coros Pace 4 an easy sell for every runner from the weekend warrior to the aspiring Olympic qualifier.
—
Jakob Schiller,
Outside,
15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Cite this Entry
“Niggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niggle. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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