BICKERING Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

bickering

verb

Definition of bickering

present participle of bicker

as in arguing

to express different opinions about something often angrily if you two don't stop bickering about where to go to eat, we're not going out at all!

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 bickering Like law enforcement agents everywhere, they’re disposed to bickering about jurisdiction or pumping each other for off-limits information. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026 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 After bickering with Percy over her involvement in the mission, Thalia ultimately drives away from the scene. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026 Establishment figures such as Jeffries and the party’s 2028 presidential candidates will need to grasp that the relationship between the DSA and the Democratic Party is not one of occasionally bickering siblings, but of parasite and host. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026 Several weeks back, Clark and White were caught bickering during a timeout huddle against the expansion Portland Fire. — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 June 2026 The emotional distress may have stemmed from the family's extended trip together and bickering, his mother told USA TODAY on June 3. — Saleen Martin, USA Today, 3 June 2026 While the concrete cured, the starting eight matches of the first-ever World Cup were relocated to Pocitos and Gran Parque Central, the home grounds of capital rivals Peñarol and Nacional, who'd been bickering since their first meeting in July 1900. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bickering

Verb

By arguing for the necessity of the chains of deportation today, Vance makes an eerily similar case.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Good luck enforcing Potemkin guarantees from hyperscalers or arguing that local protests excuse a construction delay that blew a hole in the financing.

— Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of arguing

Verb

The two were among two quarreling groups inside the club that began to fight, according to the report.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Sunday, a caller reported hearing two men quarreling and someone stating that a person would be taken into custody.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of quarreling

Verb

Rather than fighting strict local regulations head-on, companies like Waymo, Zoox, and Aurora are prioritizing states with explicit legislative preemption that prevents individual cities from banning the technology.

— Andrew Hawkins, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026
The procedure had already been approved, and everyone involved understood that my doctor had spent months fighting to secure authorization.

— Scott Levenson, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of fighting

Verb

Mills, sympathetic to conspiratorial beliefs about the 2020 election and hailed by some election skeptics as a champion of voting integrity, has long clashed with members, squabbling over his power.

— Caleb Groves, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Later in the day, on the other hand, the artificial grass was hardly visible under the beach towels, and there were parents with squabbling children doing cannonballs into the pool.

— Elvira Navarro, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of squabbling

Verb

Several hundred mostly young people protested in Brussels on Saturday, according to Reuters, clashing with police in protests at least partly inspired by what is going on in France.

— Tyler Speicher, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Michigan gubernatorial candidates Jocelyn Benson and John James laid out competing plans for the state's future during a debate Thursday night, clashing over affordability, taxes, data centers, education and health care.

— Terell Bailey, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of clashing

Verb

Combs was previously placed in solitary confinement after brawling with another inmate back in July.

— Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026
Latino culture typecasts hombres as eternal machos always a few drinks away from brawling or bawling.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of brawling

Browse Nearby Words

bickerers

bickering

bickers

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Style

“Bickering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bickering. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of bickering

verb

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