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 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squabbling
  1. bickering
  2. arguing
  3. quarreling
  4. fighting
Verb
  • 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
Definition of 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

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 20 Oct. 2026.

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