cavil

---

Pronunciation

• (RP, GA) IPA: /ˈkæv.əl/, /ˈkæv.ɪl/

Verb

cavil (cavils, present participle cavilling; past and past participle cavilled)

1. (intransitive) To criticise for petty or frivolous reasons.

   Synonyms: be hypercritical, nitpick, pettifog, split hairs

   • 1598?, William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act I, scene I:

     'Tis love you cavil at: I am not Love.

Translations

• French: chicane
• German: nörgeln, kritteln, schikanieren
• Italian: cavillare
• Portuguese: chicanar, sofismar
• Russian: придира́ться

Noun

cavil (plural cavils)

1. A petty or trivial objection or criticism.

Translations

• Portuguese: chicana, sofisma
• Russian: приди́рка

---

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004