bickerings
Minor verbal spats
Bickerings are episodes of petty, prolonged quarreling—the kind of minor disputes that never quite resolve but keep flaring up: The constant bickerings between neighbors finally led to a formal complaint.
The plural emphasizes repeated instances rather than a single argument.
Trivial noisy argument
- spatPetty verbal dispute
- tiffMinor interpersonal dispute
- wrangleArgue or herd livestock
- quarrelAngry verbal dispute
dispute · altercation · argument · row · disagreement · clash · contention · falling-out
Lacking significance or weight
- minorScale with lowered third
- pettyOf little importance
- triflingOf no real importance
- nigglingTrivially but persistently bothersome
picayune · inconsequential · small-minded · nitpicking · quibbling · hair-splitting · caviling · fussing
Resistance between touching surfaces
- tensionStretched or strained state
- strifeAngry, prolonged conflict
- discordLack of agreement
- dissensionConflict within a group
disharmony · conflict · antagonism · hostility · animosity · enmity · bad blood · acrimony
squabble
Trivial noisy argument
quarrel · dispute · altercation · argument · row · disagreement · clash · contention · falling-out · words
trivial
Lacking significance or weight
niggling · picayune · inconsequential · small-minded · nitpicking · quibbling · hair-splitting · caviling · fussing · pettifogging
friction
Resistance between touching surfaces
dissension · disharmony · conflict · antagonism · hostility · animosity · enmity · bad blood · acrimony · ill will
constant
Fixed, unvarying quantity
continual · recurring · repeated · habitual · chronic · perpetual · unending · interminable · relentless · nonstop
bickeringspleasantries
Polite conversational formalities
civil discourse · cordialities · polite conversation · silence · sweet nothings
- bickering like a married coupleConstant minor arguing between intimates
- bickering like an old married couplePetty arguing born of intimacy