Quibble meaning

kwĭbəl

Words form:

Frequency:

Quibble is defined as a petty, irrelevant or evasive argument.

An example of a quibble is comparing a serious political issue to a minor daily life issue.

noun

A trivial matter or minor concern raised in arguing or finding fault.

noun

To quibble is defined as to use petty, trivial expressions or arguments when discussing an issue.

An example of to quibble is to provide excuses instead of saying the truth.

verb

To argue or find fault over trivial matters or minor concerns; cavil.

verb

(archaic) A pun.

noun

A shift or turn from the point in question; a trifling or evasive distinction; a cavil.

noun

(obs.) A play on words; pun.

noun

An evasion of the main point as by emphasizing some petty detail; cavil.

noun

A petty objection or criticism.

noun

To evade the truth of a point under discussion by caviling; resort to a quibble.

verb

He harped on his quibble about how the dark red paint should be described as carmine rather than burgundy.

noun

(intransitive) To complain or argue in a trivial or petty manner.

They are constantly quibbling over insignificant details.

verb

Origin of quibble

Probably diminutive of obsolete quib equivocation perhaps from Latin quibus dative and ablative pl. of quī who, what (from its frequent use in legal documents) kwo- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From a diminutive of Latin quibus, which appeared frequently in legal documents.

From Wiktionary