What does quibble mean?
Word: Quibble
Part of Speech: Noun and verb
Meaning: Quibble means a small, unimportant complaint or objection; as a verb, to complain about a small detail.
Synonyms: complaint, objection, cavil, grumble
Word origin: Probably from an old word quib, an evasion or quip.
How do you spell quibble?
Syllables: quib - ble
Tricky part: Two b's in the middle and le at the end: quible and quibbel each get one of these wrong.
Watch out for: quible, quibbel, qibble
Memory tip: Quibble and nibble share their ending: ibble. A quibble nibbles at a tiny point.
Quibble in a sentence
Example 1: My only quibble with the film is that it was a little too long.
Example 2: We should not quibble over who gets the bigger piece of cake.
Example 3: The judges quibbled about the score but finally agreed.
Fun Fact
Quib is thought to come from Latin quibus, which means which or whom and turned up often in old legal documents.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. quibble 2. petulent 3. pedentic 4. obstinite
a) refusing to change one's mind
b) too concerned with small rules and details
c) bad-tempered in a childish way
d) a petty point raised to find fault
Show answer
d) a petty point raised to find fault. Two of the others have an e where an a belongs and the third has an i in place of an a; quibble alone is correct.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word quibble as used in the sentence:
Nobody wants to quibble over a few pounds when the money is going to charity.
a) celebrate
b) agree
c) donate
d) argue
Show answer
d) argue. To quibble is to argue over something small, so argue is the closest match.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
My one lbqebiu with the hotel was the noisy fan in our room.
a) bubble
b) nibble
c) quibble
d) quiver
Show answer
c) quibble. Bubble and nibble can be set aside because the jumble has a q; quiver goes too, with no v or r to use.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which remark is a quibble?
a) 'Our school bus has broken down.'
b) 'The poster's letters are a bit small.'
c) 'We have won the state final again.'
d) 'The library is closed for a month.'
Show answer
b) 'The poster's letters are a bit small.'
2. Which sentence uses quibble correctly?
a) She quibbled the cake into slices.
b) He quibbled the door shut loudly.
c) The bird quibbled across the sky.
d) They quibbled over a missing comma.
Show answer
d) They quibbled over a missing comma.
