cavil
cavil · cavils · caviled / cavilled · caviling
придираться
nörgeln, kritteln, schikanieren
To criticise for petty or frivolous reasonsTo criticise for petty or frivolous reasons.
/ˈkæv.əl/
» I didn't expect him to cavil about such a minor detail.
Meaning
1 sensesTo criticise for petty or frivolous reasons.
nörgeln, kritteln, schikanieren
придира́тьсяpridirátʹsja
More definitions
- raise trivial objections
Examples
2 sentencesI didn't expect him to cavil about such a minor detail.
He was known to cavil at most of Tom's proposals.
Translations
7 languagesРусский
By meaning 1
to criticise for petty or frivolous reasons:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
to criticise for petty or frivolous reasons:
Origin
From Old French caviller (“mock, jest, rail”), from Latin cavillor (“jeer, mock, satirise,From Old French caviller (“mock, jest, rail”), from Latin cavillor (“jeer, mock, satirise, reason captiously”), from cavilla (“jeering, raillery, scoffing”); cognate with Italian cavillare, Portuguese cavillar, and Spanish cavilar; nominal usage developed within English from the original verbal usage.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
cavils, caviling, caviled, caviledSynonyms
6 synonymsnitpickpettifogsplit hairsbe hypercritical
Word family
3 related wordsDerivedcavillation
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle