Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Quibble |
QuibbleNoun1. An evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections. Verb1. Evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant objections. 2. Argue over petty things; "Let's not quibble over pennies". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "quibble" was first used: 1611. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Quibble An evasion; a juggling with words, is the Welsh chwibiol (a trill), and not the Latin quid libet (what you please), as is generally given. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: QuibbleSynonyms: quiddity (n), bicker (v), brabble (v), niggle (v), pettifog (v), squabble (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Absurdity | Sell, pun, verbal quibble, macaronic. |
Jargon, fustian, twaddle, gibberish; (no meaning); exaggeration; moonshine, stuff; mare's nest, quibble, self-delusion. | |
Discrimination | Verb: discriminate, distinguish, severalize; recognize, match, identify; separate; draw the line, sift; separate the chaff from the wheat, winnow the chaff from the wheat; separate the men from the boys; split hairs, draw a fine line, nitpick, quibble. |
Equivocalness | Noun: equivocalness; Adjective: double meaning; ambiguity, double entente, double entendre, pun, paragram, calembour, quibble, equivoque, anagram; conundrum; (riddle); play on words, word play; (wit); homonym, homonymy; amphiboly, amphibology; ambilogy, ambiloquy. |
Falsehood | Prevaricate, equivocate, quibble; palter, palter to the understanding; repondre en Normand; trim, shuffle, fence, mince the truth, beat about the bush, blow hot and cold, play fast and loose. |
Qualification | Waffle, quibble, hem and haw (be uncertain); equivocate (sophistry). |
Reasoning, | Sophism, solecism, paralogism; quibble, quirk, elenchus, elench, fallacy, quodlibet, subterfuge, subtlety, quillet; inconsistency, antilogy; "a delusion, a mockery, and a snare"; claptrap, cant, mere words; "lame and impotent conclusion". |
Pervert, quibble; equivocate, mystify, evade, elude; gloss over, varnish; misteach; mislead; (error); cavil, refine, subtilize, split hairs; misrepresent; (lie). | |
Unmeaningness | Verb: mean nothing; be unmeaning; Adjective: twaddle, quibble, scrabble. |
Wit | Word-play, jeu de mots; play of words, play upon words; pun, punning; double entente, double entendre; (ambiguity); quibble, verbal quibble; conundrum; (riddle); anagram, acrostic, double acrostic, trifling, idle conceit, turlupinade. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Quibble |
| English words defined with "quibble": Ambages ♦ bicker, brabble ♦ niggle ♦ pettifog ♦ Quibbled, Quillet ♦ squabble. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "quibble": Priest of the Blue-bag ♦ TRICKUM LEGIS. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "quibble": Quillet. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Don't quibble with me! (Jaws 2; writing credit: Carl Gottlieb; Howard Sackler) Let's not quibble about who failed who. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| "Quibble" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 55.29% of the time. "Quibble" is used about 85 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 55.29% | 47 | 49,740 |
| Noun (singular) | 42.35% | 36 | 57,479 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 2.35% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 85 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "quibble": legal quibble ♦ verbal quibble. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "quibble": no-quibble. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
quibble | 6 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "quibble"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Afrikaans | bedil (carp at, haze). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | stërhollim (luxuriance, sophistication), lojë me fjalë (casuistry, quiddity), bishtnim (tergiversation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مواربة (devious, equivocation, prevarication, tergiversation), مراوغة (deviousness, dodge, elusion, equivocation, evasion, evasiveness, prevarication, shiftiness, slyness, trickery), تمحك, جادل (argue, contend, debate, fuss, join issue with, reason, talk over, urge), جدال فارغ, إنتقاد (criticism, cut), إعتراض (blockage, demur, exception, interception, intervention, kick, objection, protest, protestation, remonstrance, stop, stoppage), راوغ (dodge, elude, equivocate, fudge, palter, prevaricate, rip off, squirm, weasel). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | шикалкавя (boggle, fence, hedge, shift, shuffle, stall), шикалкавене (fencing, hedging, quiddity, quip, runaround, shuffle), каламбур (pun, quiddity, wordplay), незначително възражение, заяждам се (altercate, carp, cavil, nibble, niggle), залавям се за дреболии, правя каламбури, игра на думи (clinch, pun, wordplay), извъртане (chicane, dodge, dodgery, equivocation, evasion, indirection, jugglery, legerdemain, salvo, shuffle, taradiddle, tergiversation, torsion, twist), дребно възражение (quiddity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 谬论 (Fallacies, Fallacy). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | slovní hříèka (pun), slovíèkařit, slovíèkaření, puntièkářská poznámka, dìlat slovní hříèky (pun). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | haarkloven (act wise, carp at, haze, show off, split hairs), bedillen (carp at, haze). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | ĉikani (carp at, haze). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Faeroese | arga (abet, carp at, excite, haze, incite, provoke, rouse, stimulate, stir up). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | محاجه کردن , محاجه , نیرنگ درسخن , نیش کلام , کنایه (Allegory, Allusion, Dig, Innuendo, Jest, Lampoon, Metaphor, Quip, Squib), زبان بازی کردن (Equivocate, Prevaricate), ایهام گوءی کردن . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | chicaner. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | wortklauberei betreiben, wegen (because, because of, by reason of, carp at, concerning, due to, for, for sake of, for the sake of, haze, on account of, owing to, through), sich herumstreiten (bandy words, haggle), schikanieren (bully, carp at, harass, hassle, haze, mess about, mess around, persecute, pick on, ride, to pick on, to torment, torment, victimize), kritteln (cavil, find fault, niggle, niggling), kleinlich sein (nit-pick), Kleinigkeiten tadeln (carp at, haze), deuteln (cavil). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | σόφισμα (fallacy, sophism), στρεψοδικώ (pettifog, prevaricate), σοφιστεία (sophistry), υπεκφυγή (elusion, evasion, loophole, prevarication, quirk, shift, stall, subterfuge, tergiversation), υπεκφεύγω (dodge, elude, evade, fudge, palter, prevaricate, shift, shuffle, shun, tergiversate). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | ל"תפלפל (sophisticate, split hairs). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | szójáték (equivoke, equivoque, Paronomasia, play on words, pun, quip, wordplay, word-play), kibúvó (evasion, loophole, mask, quip, recourse, resource, shuffle, subterfuge), csűrés-csavarás (chicanery, crooked reasoning, quip, shuffle). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | sindiran (allusion, backhanded, crank, satire), berkilah (equivocate), berdalih (equivocate). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | cavillo (cavil). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 屁理屈 (sophism). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | へりくつ (sophism). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | shaghrynys (abberation, absence, bewilderment, blunder, confusion, deviation, deviousness, error, gaffe, hallucination, maze, mental alienation, truancy), loayrt dy shaghrynagh (prevaricate), cabbaragh (bragging, chatter, chatty, gabbling, gibbering, muttering, prattler, quibbler). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Norwegian | liten uenighet, krangle om detaljer. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ibblequay usar de subterfúgios (shuffle), trocadilho (clinch, paronomasia, pun), subterfúgio (dodgery, evasion, feint, mask, refuge, salvo, shuffle, subterfuge, trick, trickery), sofisma (cavil, chicanery, fallacy, fetch, quiddity, quip, quirk, sophism, sophistry), jogo de palavras (pun, wordplay), jogar com palavras, fuxicar (carp at, haze), falarchicanas (carp at, haze), evasiva (ambages, dodge, dodgery, elusion, evasion, prevarication, quirk, salvo, shuffle, subterfuge, tergiversation), equívoco (equivocal, fishy, misapprehension, miscomprehension, misconception, misjudgement, mistake, misunderstanding, oversight, questionable, quirk, slip-up, suspicious), empregar trocadilhos, dar evasivas, chicanear (carp at, haze), atazanar (carp at, haze), aperrear (carp at, haze). (various references) subterfugiu (evasion, quip, shift, subterfuge), recurge echivoc, echivoc (ambiguity, ambiguous, doubt, equivocal, equivocation, equivoque, multivocal, shady, suspicious), calambur (equivoque, paronomasia, pun, quirk, wordplay). (various references) софизм (sophism), каламбур (equivoke, equivoque, paronomasia, play on words, pun, quirk, wordplay, word-play), игра слов (paronomasia, play on words, quiddity, wordplay, word-play). (various references) cepidlačenje (cavil, hairsplitting, logomachy, niceties, pedantry). (various references) sutileza (finesse, niceness, nicety, quiddity, subtlety). (various references) slingra sig (equivocate, fence, hedge, loop, meander, prevaricate, snake, squiggle, tergiversate, trail, twist, wander, weave, wriggle), rida på ord, ordlek (equivoke, equivoque, pun, wordplay). (various references) พู"คลุมเครือ. (various references) lafı çevirmek (shift), kelime oyunu yapmak (equivocate, pun), kelime oyunu (crank, equivocation, pun, wordplay), kaçamaklı cevap vermek, kaçamaklı cevap, kılı kırk yarmak (go over smth. with a fine comb, niggle, refine, split, split hairs, strain a gnat, wiredraw), baştan savma cevap. (various references) ухилятися від суті питання, софізм (amphibology, amphiboly, quibbling, quip, sophism), каламбурити (pun, quirk), каламбур (allusion, annomination, clinch, conundrum, pun, quibbling, quirk, wordplay). (various references) lý sự cùn, lối chơi chữ cách nói nước đôi, cách nói nguỵ biện, cách nói lảng. (various references) geirddadl (cavil). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | captio, captionem, quibus. (various references) |
| Middle French | 1400-1600 | chicaner. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "quibble": quibbled, quibbler, quibblers, quibbles. (additional references) | |
| |
"Quibble" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Qibla, quabble, quabe, quable, quebe, quibe, quible, quilble, squibble, squible. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "quibble" (pronounced kwi"bul) |
| 4 | -i" b u l | Dibble, dribble, Gribble, kibble, nibble, scribble, Sibyl. |
| 3 | -b u l | able, abominable, acceptable, accessible, accountable, achievable, actionable, adaptable, addressable, adjustable, admirable, admissible, adoptable, adorable, advisable, affable, affordable, agreeable, allowable, amble, amenable, amendable, amiable, amicable, analyzable, answerable, appealable, applicable, appreciable, approachable, approvable, arable, arguable, assemble, attainable, attributable, audible, available, avoidable, babble, Babel, bankable, bauble, bearable, believable, bible, billable, biodegradable, bramble, breakable, bubble, buildable, Bumble, burnable, cable, callable, cannibal, capable, changeable, chargeable, charitable, classifiable, cobble, coble, collapsible, collectible, Combinable, comfortable, commendable, communicable, comparable, compatible, compensable, comprehensible, conceivable, confirmable, considerable, constable, consumable, contemptible, contestable, controllable, convertible, copyrightable, corbel, countable, credible, creditable, crucible, crumble, culpable, curable, cymbal, dabble, debatable, deductible, defensible, definable, degradable, delectable, deliverable, demonstrable, dependable, deplorable, deployable, depreciable, describable, desirable, despicable, detachable, detectable, determinable, developable, digestible, disable, disagreeable, disassemble, discernible, discountable, discoverable, dishonorable, dispensable, disposable, disreputable, dissemble, distinguishable, divisible, doable, double, Drabble, drinkable, drivable, durable, eatable, edible, electable, eligible, Embraceable, employable, enable, enfeeble, enforceable, enjoyable, ennoble, ensemble, enviable, equable, equitable, erasable, erodible, estimable, exchangeable, excitable, excludable, excusable, execrable, exercisable, expandable, expendable, explainable, exportable, extendable, extendible, fable, fallible, fashionable, fathomable, favorable, feasible, feeble, fissionable, fixable, flammable, flexible, foible, forcible, foreseeable, forfeitable, forgettable, forgivable, formidable, fumble, fungible, fusible, gable, gamble, Garble, global, gobble, grumble, gullible, habitable, hardscrabble, harvestable, herbal, heritable, hobble, hon, honorable, horrible, hospitable, humble, identifiable, ignoble, illegible, imaginable, imitable, immeasurable, immiscible, immobile, immovable, immutable, impassable, impeachable, impeccable, impenetrable, imperceptible, impermissible, implacable, implantable, implausible, imponderable, impossible, impracticable, impregnable, impressionable, improbable, inaccessible, inadmissible, inadvisable, inalienable, inapplicable, inaudible, incalculable, incapable, incomparable, incompatible, incomprehensible, incompressible, inconceivable, incontrovertible, incorrigible, incredible, incurable, indefatigable, indefensible, indefinable, indelible, indescribable, indestructible, indispensable, indisputable, indistinguishable, indivisible, indomitable, inedible, ineffable, ineligible, inequitable, inescapable, inevitable, inexcusable, inexhaustible, inexorable, inexplicable, infallible, infeasible, inflammable, inflatable, inflexible, inheritable, inhospitable, inimitable, injectable, innumerable, inoperable, insatiable, inscrutable, inseparable, insoluble, insufferable, insupportable, insurmountable, intangible, intelligible, interchangeable, interminable, interruptible, intertribal, intolerable, intractable, invaluable, investable, invincible, inviolable, invisible, invulnerable, irascible, irreconcilable, irrefutable, irremediable, irreparable, irreplaceable, irrepressible, irresistible, irresponsible, irreversible, irrevocable, irritable, issuable, jumble, justifiable, knowledgeable, label, lamentable, laudable, laughable, leasable, legible, liable, libel, likable, likeable, livable, lovable, malleable, manageable, mandible, maneuverable, marble, marketable, measurable, memorable, microwavable, miscible, miserable, mislabel, mobile, moldable, movable, mumble, navigable, negligible, negotiable, nimble, noble, noncallable, nonconvertible, nondeductible, nondurable, nonrefundable, nonrenewable, nontaxable, nontransferable, nonverbal, notable, noticeable, objectionable, observable, obtainable, operable, ostensible, palatable, palpable, parable, passable, patentable, payable, peaceable, pebble, perceptible, perishable, permeable, permissible, personable, persuadable, pitiable, plausible, pleasurable, pliable, portable, possible, potable, practicable, preamble, predictable, preferable, presentable, preventable, printable, probable, profitable, programmable, prosecutable, provable, psychobabble, punishable, questionable, quotable, rabble, ramble, reachable, readable, realizable, reasonable, reassemble, rebel, receivable, rechargeable, recognizable, recordable, recoverable, recyclable, redeemable, redouble, redoubtable, reducible, refundable, regrettable, relabel, reliable, remarkable, removable, renewable, rentable, repairable, repayable, repeatable, replaceable, reportable, reprehensible, reputable, resealable, resemble, resettable, respectable, responsible, retractable, returnable, reusable, reversible, revocable, ridable, Roble, rouble, roundtable, rubble, Ruble, rumble, sable, salable, saleable, salvageable, Scrabble, scramble, seasonable, sensible, serviceable, shamble, sizable, sizeable, sociable, soluble, solvable, spendable, squabble, Stabile, stable, stubble, stumble, submersible, suggestible, suitable, supportable, survivable, susceptible, sustainable, syllable, symbol, table, talkable, tangible, taxable, teachable, tenable, terrible, thimble, timetable, tolerable, traceable, tractable, tradable, tradeable, trainable, transferable, transferrable, transmittable, transportable, treatable, treble, tremble, tribal, trouble, tubal, tumble, tunable, turntable, typeable, umbel, unable, unacceptable, unaccountable, unaffordable, unalienable, unalterable, unanswerable, unassailable, unattainable, unavailable, unavoidable, unbearable, unbeatable, unbelievable, unbuildable, uncollectible, uncomfortable, unconscionable, uncontrollable, undeniable, understandable, undesirable, undetectable, unelectable, unemployable, unenforceable, unenviable, unexplainable, unfashionable, unfathomable, unfavorable, unfeasible, unflappable, unforeseeable, unforgettable, unforgivable, ungovernable, unimaginable, unimpeachable, uninhabitable, uninsurable, unintelligible, unjustifiable, unknowable, unlivable, unmanageable, unmentionable, unmistakable, unobtainable, unpalatable, unpredictable, unprintable, unprofitable, unquestionable, unreachable, unreadable, unreasonable, unrecognizable, unreliable, unremarkable, unsalable, unscramble, unserviceable, unshakable, unsinkable, unsolvable, unspeakable, unstable, unstoppable, unsuitable, unsupportable, unsustainable, untenable, unthinkable, untouchable, untraceable, unusable, unverifiable, unwinnable, unworkable, usable, valuable, variable, vegetable, venerable, verbal, verifiable, veritable, viable, visible, voluble, vulnerable, wamble, washable, wearable, winnable, wobble, workable. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-b-e-i-l-q-u" | |
-2 letters: bible. | |
-3 letters: bile, bleb, blub, blue, bulb, lieu, lube. | |
-4 letters: bel, bib, bub, ebb, lei, leu, lib, lie. | |
-5 letters: be, bi, el, li. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-b-e-i-l-q-u" | |
+1 letter: quibbled, quibbler, quibbles. | |
+2 letters: quibblers. | |
+5 letters: equiprobable. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage Frequency 6. Expressions 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
