as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
you know it drives me crazy when you niggle like that
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in quibble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in qualm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of niggle
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Verb
From 2021 onwards, only a calf and niggling knee injury have caused Fullkrug to miss games.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Noun
When the lineup had to be rotated to rest players nursing niggles, backups slotted in with virtually no noticeable decline in team play.
—Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggle
Verb
-
Pundits complained last year’s Cannes was a light affair, but that had to do with the bottleneck created by the strikes, for one.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Ranchers complain about predation on their herds and city dwellers fear having wolves living too close for comfort.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
But that’s a minor quibble about a kitchen that otherwise exudes competence.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2025
-
And at that point, why quibble over which exact rules got broken?—
Kelsey Piper,
Vox,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Taormina is much stricter with a boss who plays favorites and has no qualms reassigning staff based on her own whims.—
Eddie Mouradian,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
-
There are few qualms over photorealistic images of a cup on a table, but great kerfuffles follow a fake image of the Pope or of Rafah.—
Emmanuel Iduma,
ARTnews.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Really good, and if you’re not fussed about mod cons or hybrid tech, one can be sat on your driveway for just £18,850 ($24,388).—
Matthew MacConnell,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Even so, the film’s Very Online fandom didn’t seem fussed.—
Louis Staples,
Rolling Stone,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
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That decision came over the objections of Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2025
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Kansas Action for Children, a nonpartisan child advocacy group, has also voiced objection to the amendment Williams added to the bill enshrining religious freedom exemptions to immunization requirements for daycares.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
On Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets made headlines across the NBA by parting ways with both their championship-winning head coach, Michael Malone, and general manager, Calvin Booth—a move that surprised many and sent tremors through the league.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
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Seventeen people from as far away as Pacifica and Fremont reported feeling the tremor to the agency.—
Helena Wegner,
Sacbee.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Similarly, viewers nitpicked an image Siragusa shared of her door frame, which was purportedly shot open.—
Patricia Hernandez,
Rolling Stone,
24 Mar. 2025
-
For one, both experts say that being too rigid can also lead to self-sabotaging behaviors, like rejecting otherwise great matches for superficial reasons or coming up with excuses to nitpick things that never mattered before.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The metrics on which companies are required to report are likely to be reduced and simplified, but regulatory compliance still remains a data challenge that requires integrated solutions.—
Sophia Mendelsohn,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Around 500 buildings have totally collapsed and 800 more are partially destroyed, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), raising challenges for rescue workers toiling among the rubble.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Niggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggle. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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