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What is "cavilling"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Cavilling

Cavil \Cav"il\ (k[a^]v"[i^]l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Caviled or Cavilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Caviling or Cavilling.] [L. cavillari to practice jesting, to censure, fr. cavilla bantering jests, sophistry: cf. OF. caviller.] To raise captious and frivolous objections; to find fault without good reason.

You do not well in obstinacy To cavil in the course of this contract.
--Shak.

Wiktionary
cavilling

n. cavillation vb. (present participle of cavil English)

WordNet
cavilling

See cavil

cavil

  1. n. an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections [syn: quibble, quiddity]

  2. v. raise trivial objections [syn: carp, chicane]

  3. [also: cavilling, cavilled]

Usage examples of "cavilling".

Lindley Murray that Sara had been taught to repeat--no one dreamed of cavilling at it.

And although they have no method in their argument, groping blindly now this way and now that, it is yet necessary to reduce their assertions to five arguments, from which all their cavillings proceed.