Definition of 'cavil'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present
tense cavils
, present participle cavilling
, past tense, past participle cavilled
regional note: in AM, use caviling, caviled
verb [no passive]
If you say that someone cavils at something, you mean that they make criticisms of it that you think are unimportant or unnecessary.
[formal, disapproval] Let us not cavil too much. [VERB]
I don't think this is the time to cavil at the wording of the report. [VERB + at]
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
verb -ils, -illing, -illed or US -ils, -iling or -iled
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
noun
cavilling (ˈcavilling)
adjective
Word origin of 'cavil'
verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈcaviled or ˈcavilled, ˈcaviling or ˈcavilling
noun
2.
a trivial objection; quibble
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈcritical
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
noun or ˈcaviller
Word origin of 'cavil'
Example sentences containing 'cavil'
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Trends of 'cavil'
Used Rarely. cavil is in the lower 50% of commonly used words in the Collins dictionary
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Nearby words of 'cavil'
Source
Definition of cavil from the
Collins English Dictionary
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