CAVILING Synonyms

• persistent petty and unjustified criticism

• marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws

• at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction

• characterized by careful evaluation and judgment

• being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency

• of or involving or characteristic of critics or criticism

• urgently needed; absolutely necessary

• forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis

• persistent petty and unjustified criticism

• tending to make moral judgments or judgments based on personal opinions

• tending to find and call attention to faults

• inclined to judge too severely

• marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects

• (informal) small and of little importance

• be overly critical; criticize minor details

• an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections

• evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant objections

• argue over petty things

• be overly critical; criticize minor details

• argue over petty things