to niggle
1
8.2
- verb
- /ˈnɪɡəl/
- UK
:
discutir
- And Annette niggles, pokes, picks, and sneers at what I wear, what I say, and how my house looks.
- niggling details
- niggling issues
- niggling questions
Examples
-
I could be convinced to move over to Jawbone if they fixed a few niggling problems.
Blog text (31) -
A niggling little detail called uncertainty hounds product development.
Academic text (2005) -
Please let people say anything they want and stop niggling them!
Blog text (6) -
We even seem to still hear the niggling objection to it.
Academic text (2004) -
These are just niggling details that bothered me while listening to the interview.
Blog text (1) -
"As a poet, I don't like to niggle and nitpick over small details.
Fiction book (1995) -
I've still got a few niggling questions, though, but I haven't read all the posts yet, so I might find my answers above.
Blog text (28) -
She tends to niggle about the smallest mistakes in her friends' work.
-
It's not worth it to niggle over trivial issues when we have bigger problems to solve.
-
Stop niggling about the color of the napkins; the party will be fun regardless.
Synonyms
38
5.6
To complain repeatedly about small things
36
4.1
Argue again and again with someone about small unimportant things
35
2.6
To argue angrily with someone about small things
26
7.0
To argue about small unimportant details to avoid the main point
25
4.9
To have a short, unimportant argument with someone
22
3.0
Complain loudly about something small
21
5.7
To complain about very small unimportant mistakes
19
2.8
To worry too much about small things
18
4.4
To argue loudly about small unimportant things
6
6.8
To argue loudly for a long time
5
4.1
To have a small fight about something unimportant
5
8.1
To complain in an annoying way about small things
3
5.7
Keep finding small faults in someone or their ideas
2
9.9
To argue loudly with someone and continue for a long time
1
9.9
To complain about small unimportant details
1
9.9
To argue in a stubborn way about small unimportant details
To disagree angrily about small, unimportant things
Argue about small, unimportant details and waste time
To argue loudly about small unimportant things
Argue a little about something, like where to eat
Antonyms
How Nitpicky
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word niggle probably comes from old local words meaning 'to pick at' or 'to fuss over small things'. Think of someone picking at a tiny thread or 'nibbling' at a problem; that's why to niggle is to argue or complain about small, unimportant details.