Meaning & use
quibbled
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“quibbled” is a form of “quibble”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
argued about small, unimportant details instead of the main point
Grammar: No object; it is usually followed by 'about' or 'over' and the thing being argued about.
Patterns
- quibble about something
- quibble over something
- quibble with someone
The committee quibbled over the exact wording for an hour and never discussed the budget.
She quibbled about the price even though she had already decided to buy the car.
They quibbled with each other about whose turn it was to wash the dishes.
verbintransitivedisapproving
made a minor objection to something, often to avoid agreeing
Grammar: No object; it often appears with 'with' when the objection is to a person or an idea.
Patterns
- quibble with something
- quibble at something
He quibbled with the referee's decision instead of accepting it.
No one quibbled at the suggestion, so we went ahead with the plan.
Word forms
| third person singular | quibbles |
|---|---|
| past tense | quibbled |
| past participle | quibbled |
| -ing form | quibbling |
Common combinations
- quibble over details
- The lawyers quibbled over details while the client waited.
- quibble about money
- They always quibble about money at the end of the month.
- quibble with the results
- A few students quibbled with the results of the survey.
- quibble endlessly
- The two sides quibbled endlessly and reached no agreement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- argue
- This is a general word for disagreeing; it is stronger and more serious than 'quibble'.
- nitpick
- This means finding very small mistakes; it focuses on criticizing details, while 'quibble' focuses on arguing about them.
- carp
- This means complaining continually about small things; it is more negative and less about a two-sided argument.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: quibbled or quibble? quibbled or quiver?
quibbled vs quibble
The base form is 'quibble'; 'quibbled' is only the past tense or past participle, so use 'quibble' after 'to' or 'will'.
quibbled vs quiver
This means to shake slightly; it sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Quibble' is intransitive and takes 'about' or 'over' before the topic, so 'quibbled about the price' is correct. 'Quibbled the price' wrongly treats it as transitive, and 'to' and 'on' are not the usual prepositions here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “quibbled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.