Caviling

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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