cavil


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cav·il

 (kăv′əl)
v. cav·iled, cav·il·ing, cav·ils also cav·illed or cav·il·ling
v.intr.
To argue or find fault over trivial matters; raise petty objections. See Synonyms at quibble.
v.tr.
To quibble about; point out petty flaws in.
n.
A carping or trivial objection.

[French caviller, from Old French, from Latin cavillārī, to jeer, from cavilla, a jeering.]

cav′il·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cavil

(ˈkævɪl)
vb, -ils, -illing or -illed, -ils, -iling or -iled
(intr; foll by at or about) to raise annoying petty objections; quibble; carp
n
a captious trifling objection
[C16: from Old French caviller, from Latin cavillārī to jeer, from cavilla raillery]
ˈcaviller, ˈcaviler n
ˈcavilling adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cav•il

(ˈkæv əl)

v. -iled, -il•ing (esp. Brit.) -illed, -il•ling, v.i.
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.
cav′il•ing•ly; esp. Brit., cav′il•ling•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

cavil


Past participle: cavilled
Gerund: cavilling

Imperative
cavil
cavil
Present
I cavil
you cavil
he/she/it cavils
we cavil
you cavil
they cavil
Preterite
I cavilled
you cavilled
he/she/it cavilled
we cavilled
you cavilled
they cavilled
Present Continuous
I am cavilling
you are cavilling
he/she/it is cavilling
we are cavilling
you are cavilling
they are cavilling
Present Perfect
I have cavilled
you have cavilled
he/she/it has cavilled
we have cavilled
you have cavilled
they have cavilled
Past Continuous
I was cavilling
you were cavilling
he/she/it was cavilling
we were cavilling
you were cavilling
they were cavilling
Past Perfect
I had cavilled
you had cavilled
he/she/it had cavilled
we had cavilled
you had cavilled
they had cavilled
Future
I will cavil
you will cavil
he/she/it will cavil
we will cavil
you will cavil
they will cavil
Future Perfect
I will have cavilled
you will have cavilled
he/she/it will have cavilled
we will have cavilled
you will have cavilled
they will have cavilled
Future Continuous
I will be cavilling
you will be cavilling
he/she/it will be cavilling
we will be cavilling
you will be cavilling
they will be cavilling
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been cavilling
you have been cavilling
he/she/it has been cavilling
we have been cavilling
you have been cavilling
they have been cavilling
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been cavilling
you will have been cavilling
he/she/it will have been cavilling
we will have been cavilling
you will have been cavilling
they will have been cavilling
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been cavilling
you had been cavilling
he/she/it had been cavilling
we had been cavilling
you had been cavilling
they had been cavilling
Conditional
I would cavil
you would cavil
he/she/it would cavil
we would cavil
you would cavil
they would cavil
Past Conditional
I would have cavilled
you would have cavilled
he/she/it would have cavilled
we would have cavilled
you would have cavilled
they would have cavilled
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.cavil - an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections
equivocation, evasion - a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
Verb1.cavil - raise trivial objections
object - express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent; "She never objected to the amount of work her boss charged her with"; "When asked to drive the truck, she objected that she did not have a driver's license"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

cavil

verb find fault, object, complain, beef (slang), carp, quibble, kvetch (U.S. slang) This is not the time to cavil about petty details.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

cavil

verb
To raise unnecessary or trivial objections:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

cavil

[ˈkævɪl] (cavilled (caviled)) (US) (pt) (pp)
A. Nreparo m
B. VIponer peros or reparos (at a)
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cavil

vikritteln; to cavil at somethingan etw (dat)herumkritteln
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

cavil

[ˈkævɪl] vi (cavilled, Am caviled (pt, pp)) to cavil (at)cavillare (su)
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
The old navy in its last days earned a fame that no belittling malevolence dare cavil at.
His posture--flat upon his back, with his hands crossed upon his stomach and tied with something that he easily broke without profitably altering the situation--the strict confinement of his entire person, the black darkness and profound silence, made a body of evidence impossible to controvert and he accepted it without cavil.
Nor do I fear that my sensible reader, though most luxurious in his taste, will start, cavil, or be offended, because I have named but one article.
Her eyes, a deep grey, with dark eyelashes and eyebrows, had never been denied their praise; but the skin, which she had been used to cavil at, as wanting colour, had a clearness and delicacy which really needed no fuller bloom.
You will tell me, I know, that this may or may NOT have happened; but I will listen to no cavil, unless you can point out any other method of understanding the affair as satisfactory at this.
It might even have occurred to them, that where a disposition to cavil prevailed, their neglect to execute the degree of power vested in them, and still more their recommendation of any measure whatever, not warranted by their commission, would not less excite animadversion, than a recommendation at once of a measure fully commensurate to the national exigencies.
This was the third RIGHT hand found; therefore, all three of the lost men were accounted for, beyond cavil or question.
The lad was too thirsty by now to cavil at anything even remotely resembling water, so he drank his fill while Akut stood with raised head, alert for any danger.
Anne, far from wishing to cavil at the pleasure, replied, "I can easily believe it.
They ought not to have wandered into inflammatory declamations and unmeaning cavils about the extent of the powers.
There have been times and moods when I have had my questions, and made my cavils, and when it seemed to me that the poet was less than I had thought him; and certainly I do not revere equally and unreservedly all that he has written; that would be impossible.
Jack and the Beanstalk featured Lucy Cavil as Queen Bacteria; Georgia McAtee as Daisy; Katelyn Efford and Ashleigh Brown as Giant; Ana Da Silva as Jack; Mia Slater and Megan Hough as Jill; Emily Goddard as Odd; Tianey Welborun as Job; Ashleigh Brown and Isabel Peters as Mimi; Emily Harrison as Tania; Bright Hughes-Rai as Dame Trott; Katy Evans as Raspberry; Katelyn Efford and Isabel Peters as Swirl.