Dictionary Definition
cavil n : an evasion of the point of an argument
by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections [syn: quibble, quiddity] v : raise trivial
objections [syn: carp,
chicane] [also: cavilling, cavilled]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /ˈkævəl/
- Rhymes: -ævəl
Synonyms
Extensive Definition
Cavil may refer to:
- Brother Cavil, a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series
- Kwame Cavil (born 1979), Canadian Football League wide receiver
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
adverse criticism, animadversion, argue, argufy, around the bush, aspersion, bad notices, bad
press, bandy words, beat about, beg the question, bicker, boggle, captiousness, carp, carping, catch at straws,
caviling, censoriousness, censure, chicane, choplogic, complain, complaint, contend, contest, criticism, criticize, cross swords, cut
and thrust, cut up, demur,
discept, dispute, dodge, equivocate, evade, evade the issue, exception, fault-find,
faultfinding,
fence, find fault,
flak, give and take,
hairsplitting,
hassle, have it out,
hedge, hit, home thrust, hostile criticism,
hypercriticalness,
hypercriticism,
imputation, jesuitism, join issue,
knock, lock horns,
logomachize,
moot, mystify, nagging, niggle, niggling, nit, nit-picking, nitpick, object, obloquy, obscure, overcriticalness,
palter, parry, pestering, pettifog, pettifogging, pick holes,
pick nits, pick to pieces, plead, polemicize, polemize, prevaricate, priggishness, pull apart,
pull to pieces, pussyfoot, quibble, quibbling, quiddity, quillet, quip, quirk, quodlibet, rap, reflection, reproachfulness,
shift, shuffle, shy, sidestep, slam, spar, split hairs, stricture, swipe, take exception, take sides,
taking exception, tear apart, tear to pieces, tergiversate, thrash out,
trichoschistism,
try conclusions, wrangle