cavil

Plural: cavils

Noun

an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections
A petty or trivial objection or criticism.

Verb

Verb Forms: caviled, caviling, cavils, cavilled, cavilling

To make trivial objections or find fault unnecessarily; to carp.
raise trivial objections
To criticise for petty or frivolous reasons.

Examples

He loved to CAVIL over the official Scrabble rules, much to his opponents’ annoyance.

Origin / Etymology

From Old French caviller (“mock, jest, rail”), from Latin cavillor (“jeer, mock, satirise, reason captiously”), from cavilla (“jeering, raillery, scoffing”); cognate with Italian cavillare, Portuguese cavillar, and Spanish cavilar; nominal usage developed within English from the original verbal usage.

Synonyms

carp, chicane, quibble, quiddity, be hypercritical, nitpick, pettifog, split hairs

Scrabble Score: 10

cavil: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
cavil: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
cavil: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

cavil: valid Words With Friends Word