| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | objection, complaint |
| Synonyms: | artifice, cavil, criticism, dodge, duplicity, equivocation, evasion, hair-splitter, nicety, niggle, nit-picker, pretense, prevarication, protest, quiddity, quirk, shift, sophism, subterfuge, subtlety |
| Antonyms: | agreement, approval, concurrence |
| Main Entry: | argue |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | verbally fight |
| Synonyms: | altercate, bandy, battle, bicker, break with, buck, bump heads, contend, cross, cross swords, disagree, dispute, face down, face off, feud, gang up on, get in one's face, go one on one, hammer, hammer away, hash, hash over, hassle, have at each other, have at it, jump, jump on, knock around, lock horns, mix it up, pettifog, pick an argument, put up a fight, put up a struggle, quarrel, quibble, rehash, row, sass, set to, sock it to, squabble, stick it to, talk back, wrangle |
| Antonyms: | agree, harmonize, ignore, overlook |
| Main Entry: | bicker |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | nastily argue |
| Synonyms: | altercate, brawl, caterwaul, cause a scene, cavil, dig, disagree, dispute, fall out, fight, hassle, pick at, quarrel, quibble, row, scrap, scrape, spar, spat, squabble, tiff, trade zingers, wrangle |
| Notes: | to bicker is to quarrel and to dicker is to haggle or bargain |
| Antonyms: | agree, concede, discuss |
| Main Entry: | carp |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | nag |
| Synonyms: | bother, cavil, censure, complain, criticize, find fault, fuss, grumble, hypercriticize, knock, nitpick, objurgate, pan, peck, pick at, quibble, reproach |
| Antonyms: | ignore, let go |
| Main Entry: | criticism |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | verbal disapproval |
| Synonyms: | Bronx cheer, animadversion, aspersion, bad press, blast, brickbats, call down, carping, cavil, caviling, censure, critical remarks, cut*, denunciation, disparagement, faultfinding, flak, hit*, knock*, nit-picking, objection, opprobrium, pan, panning, put down, quibble, rap on knuckles, reproof, roast, slam*, slap on wrist, slap, static, stricture, swipe, vitriol, zapper |
| Notes: | a criticism is an evaluation or judgment of something, while critique is a somewhat elevated term for the same thing; review is used as a synonym for these but may also imply a more comprehensive study |
| Antonyms: | approval, compliment, praise |
| Main Entry: | disagree |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | argue; hold differing opinion |
| Synonyms: | altercate, battle, bicker, brawl, break with, bring action, clash, contend, contest, controversialize, controvert, debate, differ, disaccord, discept, discord, dispute, dissent, divide, fall out, feud, fight, go for the jugular, haggle, have words, jump on, lay into, let have it, logomachize, object, oppose, palter, quarrel, quibble, rip, row, scrap, set to, skirmish, spar, spat, sue, take issue, take on, war, wrangle, zap |
| Antonyms: | accept, acquiesce, agree, concur, consent |
| Main Entry: | dispute |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | argue |
| Synonyms: | agitate, altercate, bicker, brawl, bump heads, canvass, challenge, clash, confute, contend, contest, contradict, controvert, debate, deny, disaffirm, discept, discuss, disprove, doubt, gainsay, hassle, have at, impugn, jump on one's case, kick around, lock horns, moot, negate, pick a bone, quarrel, question, quibble, rebut, refute, squabble, take on, thrash out, toss around, wrangle |
| Antonyms: | agree, give in, go along |
| Main Entry: | equivocate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid an issue |
| Synonyms: | beat around the bush, beg the question, blow hot and cold, cavil, cloud the issue, con, cop a plea, cop out, cover up, dodge, double-talk, elude, escape, eschew, evade, falsify, fence, fib, flip-flop, fudge, give run around, hedge, hem and haw, jive, lie, mince words, palter, parry, pass the buck, prevaricate, pussyfoot, quibble, run around, shuck, shuffle, sidestep, sit on the fence, stonewall, tell white lie, tergiversate, tergiverse, waffle, weasel |
| Antonyms: | face, meet, speak on |
| Main Entry: | evasion |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | escape, avoidance |
| Synonyms: | artifice, circumvention, cop-out, cunning, ditch*, dodge*, dodging, elusion, equivocating, equivocation, eschewal, evading, evasiveness, excuse, fancy footwork, fudging, fugiviteness, fugivity, jive, lie, obliqueness, pretext, prevarication, quibble, routine, run-around, ruse, shift, shirking, shuffling, shunning, slip*, sophism, sophistry, stall, stonewall, subterfuge, trick, trickery |
| Antonyms: | directness, facing, meeting |