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- Dictionarycavil/ˈkavəl/
verb
- 1. make petty or unnecessary objections: "they cavilled at the cost"
noun
- 1. a petty or unnecessary objection.
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CAVIL definition: 1. to make unreasonable complaints, especially about things that are not important 2. an…. Learn more.
: to raise trivial and frivolous objection. The author caviled about the design of the book's cover. transitive verb. : to raise trivial objections to. He caviled the conditions of the agreement. cavil noun. caviler noun. or caviller. ˈka-və-lər. ˈkav-lər. Did you know? You must be joking!
A cavil is a small or petty objection. Cavil is not a word that comes up all that often. You can replace it with the more commonly used word quibble and still have the same meaning. If you cavil over a restaurant bill, you argue about the minute, unimportant details of who owes what — like whether your portion of the bill is $10.00 or $10.17.
CAVIL meaning: 1. to make unreasonable complaints, especially about things that are not important 2. an…. Learn more.
Cavil definition: to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at or about). See examples of CAVIL used in a sentence.
If you say that someone cavils at something, you mean that they make criticisms of it that you think are unimportant or unnecessary. Let us not cavil too much. [VERB] I don't think this is the time to cavil at the wording of the report. [VERB + at] Cavil is also a noun.
1. to raise trivial and unnecessary objections (usu. fol. by at or about). v.t. 2. to oppose by trivial or frivolous objections. n. 3. a trivial and annoying objection. 4. the raising of such objections. [1540–50; < Latin cavillārī to scoff, quibble] cav′il•er; esp. Brit., cav′il•ler, n.
Definition of cavil verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
All you need to know about "CAVIL" in one place: definitions, pronunciations, synonyms, grammar insights, collocations, examples, and translations.
Cavil definition: To argue or find fault over trivial matters; raise petty objections.