squabbling

verb

present participle of squabble
as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily the children squabbled loudly over who got to play with the toy first

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of squabbling There were the two seen squabbling with Jackie last month, another Shadow batted out of the nest before Luna and Sandy left and now eaglet KD1 is making her presence known. — Joy Benedict, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026 The squabbling banter between the two is priceless, even endearing. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 28 July 2026 The Greek myths are rife with petty and meddlesome deities squabbling, playing favorites, punishing harshly, and otherwise wreaking havoc on the lives of mortal men. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2026 The actor ended up calling attention to his own hat after squabbling with cast member Sarah Sherman — who, to match the country singer's vibe, pulled up in a cowboy hat, leaving Gosling as the odd man out. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 With supply shrinking, the states continue squabbling. — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 26 June 2026 Parties generally avoid this kind of squabbling in wide-open governor’s races by letting the candidates compete and seeing who wins the primary, said Gregory Koger, a political science professor at the University of Miami. — Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 June 2026 Cobb County and Mableton have been squabbling over police services. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 16 June 2026 Then there are the lesser houses, the lower fiefdoms squabbling over the crumbs that fall from the big kids’ table. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squabbling
  1. bickering
  2. arguing
  3. quarreling
  4. fighting
Verb
  • There’s striker Josie Gordon, bickering twin sisters Siobhan and Niamh, glove-shunning goalie Katie ‘Boots’ Quinn and couple Maddie and Margy.
    — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Back at the base, the team is still bickering with the other troopers.
    — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of bickering
Verb
  • O’Leary, who owns multimillion-dollar homes in Florida, Massachusetts, and Toronto, has made the point to shop at Walmart on numerous occasions—long arguing that there’s no reason to pay more for everyday essentials when a cheaper option will do.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Nevada promptly sued, arguing the plan is untenable for Las Vegas.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of arguing
Verb
  • In another clip, a student records himself quarreling with a teacher asking him to take out his notes.
    — Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Now might not seem the moment for Democrats to be quarrelling, but many of them believe that the only way to build the Party back up is to remake it.
    — Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
Definition of quarreling
Verb
  • As a result, the Fed’s attention is now fixed on fighting inflation, instead of the other part of its dual mandate, namely supporting the labor market.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
  • For France, long accustomed to wildfires along arid stretches of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the devastation in Le Porge has yielded rare consensus that its fire safety system is not up to fighting mega-fires brought on by climate change.
    — Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of fighting

Browse Nearby Words

squabbles
squabbling
squabs
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Cite this Entry

“Squabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squabbling. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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