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
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of niggle
Inkoo Kang, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2020
Something about this might niggle at the back of the mind as the hours go by.
—Stephanie Rosenbloom, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2019
Jodie Cook, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
One niggle: The brake pedal could use a smoother transition from its energy-harvesting regenerative stoppers to its mechanical-friction brakes.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2019
See all Example Sentences for niggle 
Verb
That said, without examples of what the ERA might change, the accusations of its largely symbolic status — lodged by some of the characters in the series — continue to niggle.
—Inkoo Kang, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2020
Something about this might niggle at the back of the mind as the hours go by.
—Stephanie Rosenbloom, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2019
Noun
Use this prompt to explain a niggle and talk it through.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
One niggle: The brake pedal could use a smoother transition from its energy-harvesting regenerative stoppers to its mechanical-friction brakes.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2019
See all Example Sentences for niggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggle
Verb
-
An unknown number of people within the department complained about the post.Rachel Royster, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
-
Reddit users are complaining about problems connecting to the online forum, with thousands of people telling DownDetector on Wednesday that the service is down.Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
My only quibble with the Aiden coffee maker is that the app functionality is nonexistent.Anthony Karcz, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
-
Send your wine questions and quibbles to [email protected] Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans.Seth Eli Barlow, arkansasonline.com, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
The new gang surrounding Trump will have few of Kelly’s qualms.Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2024
-
Republicans in July overcame qualms about Trump’s polarizing antics and legal problems to nominate him a third time, galvanized after an assassination attempt by a gunman whose bullets nicked Trump’s ear at a Pennsylvania rally, killed a supporter and raised national tensions.Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
The gizmo also includes haptic alerts that can wake you—but not your partner—if your child is fussing.Chris Stokel-Walker, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
-
While some parents are fine with sleep training methods that involve lengthy separations from their babies, and a fair amount of crying and fussing, for other parents, these methods just don’t feel right.1 That’s where gentle sleep training come into play.Wendy Wisner, Parents, 17 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
That expansion came over the objection of the court's chief justice at the time.Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
-
That immediately elicited objections from the South Arkansas Minerals Association, which also objected to the December application, and dozens of other mineral rights owners.Ainsley Platt, arkansasonline.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
First, Earth's gravitational pull is expected to trigger tremors across the asteroid beginning about an hour before its closest approach.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
-
This is why there are actually some tremors in the Treasury market itself right now.MoneyShow, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
-
This isn’t to nitpick but to suggest there are deeper questions about the way true crime participates in cultural imaginings of empathy that could be explored even within these productions.Alessa Dominguez, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
The company continues to face liquidity challenges and relies on external financing to fund its operations.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 15 Nov. 2024
-
The 2-1 decision from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a challenge to a similar law in Tennessee, which may ultimately determine whether all such state laws around the country can be enforced.Reuters, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
Articles Related to niggle
Thesaurus Entries Near niggle
Cite this Entry
“Niggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggle. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share