variants
or cavilling
as in critical
given to making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things
a caviling theater critic who has yet to see a play she likes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or cavilling
as in complaining
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
caviled for hours about a single sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for caviling
Adjective
-
Metamask Card Brings Crypto Natives Real World Utility The critical innovation now happening is connecting these stablecoins directly to everyday payment systems without sacrificing self-custody: a principle that separates crypto from traditional finance.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025 -
Want to stay up to date on IndieWire’s film reviews and critical thoughts?—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The irony of the quintessential real estate expert buying a home in the flight path of an international airport, then complaining about the noise, is not lost on the rest of Palm Beach County.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
-
That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
So much of the new sobriety flex is anathema to the captious alcoholics of 12-step groups.—
Virginia Heffernan,
Wired,
19 Apr. 2022
-
That a right-wing party traditionally captious about American patriotism did not react heatedly to evidence of Russian interference in US elections is bizarre.—
Darryl Pinckney,
The New York Review of Books,
5 Nov. 2020
Adjective
-
While Pansy’s hypercritical diatribes can be hilarious at times, the emotional pain that clearly underlies her behavior is heartbreaking.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
11 Jan. 2025
-
Especially as a woman online, a lot of people are so hypercritical of that sort of thing.—
Carly Thomas,
The Hollywood Reporter,
2 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
The measure also seeks to force insurers to be more judicious with denials, by fining them up to $1 million per case if more than half of appeals filed with regulators are overturned in a year.—
Christine Mai-Duc,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2025
-
The answer to those needs is the judicious use of generative AI.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
The whining about everyone else didn’t help, either.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2024
-
Stop whining and thank your lucky stars for having a job.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Caviling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caviling. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share