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  1. niggle love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To be preoccupied with trifles or petty details.
  2. v. To find fault constantly and trivially; carp. See Synonyms at quibble.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To eat sparingly; nibble.
  2. To act in a mincing manner; work in a finicking, fussy way.
  3. To trifle; be employed in trifling or petty carping.
  4. To fret; complain of trifles.
  5. . To draw out unwillingly; squeeze out or hand out slyly.
  6. To play with contemptuously; make sport or game of; mock; deceive.
  7. To fill with excess of details; over-elaborate.
  8. n. Small cramped handwriting; a scribble; a scrawl.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A minor complaint or problem.
  2. n. obsolete Small, cramped handwriting.
  3. v. To trifle with; to deceive; to mock.
  4. v. To dwell too much on minor points.
  5. v. To fidget, fiddle, be restless.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. obsolete To trifle with; to deceive; to mock.
  2. v. To trifle or play.
  3. v. Prov. Eng. To act or walk mincingly.
  4. v. Prov. Eng. To fret and snarl about trifles.
  5. v. To move about restlessly or without result; to fidget.
  6. v. To be finicky or excessively critical; to potter; esp., to work with excessive care for trifling details, as in painting.
  7. v. To use, spend, or do in a petty or trifling manner.
  8. v. To elaborate excessively, as in art.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. argue over petty things
  2. v. worry unnecessarily or excessively

Etymologies

  1. First attested in 1599. Origin uncertain, but likely from Old Norse nigla and/or nugla. Possibly cognate to niggard. (Wiktionary)
  2. Perhaps of Scandinavian origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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Lists

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Comments

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  • AdamBerkowicz I believe we're missing a definition used in the game of European Football. When a player sustains smaller injuries, they are constantly referred to as niggles. Nov 3, 2012

  • fbharjo niggle a minute, meticulous word Jan 12, 2007

  • jrome "I'm glad we're doing this! It's been niggling at me..." Jan 4, 2007

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‘niggle’ has been looked up 2655 times, loved by 5 people, added to 31 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.