cavil
verb [intransitive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they cavil | |
| he / she / it cavils | |
| past simple cavilled | |
| past participle cavilled | |
| (US English) past simple caviled | |
| (US English) past participle caviled | |
| -ing form cavilling | |
| (US English) -ing form caviling |
- cavil (at something)
to make unnecessary complaints about something 无端抱怨；挑剔；吹毛求疵 Several countries cavilled at the cost of the project. 几个国家对该项目的成本吹毛求疵。
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from French caviller, from Latin cavillari, from cavilla ‘mockery’.