Cavil \Cav"il\ (k[a^]v"[i^]l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Caviled or
Cavilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Caviling or Cavilling.] [L.
cavillari to practice jesting, to censure, fr. cavilla
bantering jests, sophistry: cf. OF. caviller.]
To raise captious and frivolous objections; to find fault
without good reason.
[1913 Webster]
You do not well in obstinacy
To cavil in the course of this contract. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Caviling \Cav"il*ing\, a.
Disposed to cavil; finding fault without good reason. See
Captious.
[1913 Webster]
His depreciatory and caviling criticism. --Lewis.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
caviling
adj : quibbling over insignificant details; "caviling pettifoggers
and quiggling pleaders"-Edmund Burke; "her nagging and
carping attack"; "thought her editor unnecessarily
nitpicking"; "a pettifogging lawyer's mind"; "had no
patience with quibbling critics" [syn: carping, nitpicking,
pettifogging, quibbling]
WordNet (r) 2.0
20 Moby Thesaurus words for "caviling":
captious, carping, censorious, contrary, critic, demanding,
exacting, faultfinding, finicky, fussy, hairsplitting,
hypercritical, mean, niggling, nitpicking, overcritical, perverse,
petty, picky, small
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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