The verbs disagree and quarrel are synonyms, but they don’t quite see eye to eye. Disagree is the general term used to talk about differences in opinion (three of the judges disagreed with the verdict) or simple lack of agreement between items (the conclusions disagree with the facts). Disagree can also be used to talk about items or conditions that cause physical discomfort (the oysters disagreed with her). But none of these level-headed meanings overlap exactly with quarrel. To quarrel is to disagree angrily or to squabble. This more vehement verb suggests an angry dispute or altercation, or a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations.

Something that is unimportant lacks significance or value. Unimportant details in a movie, for instance, add little to the story. Something that is negligible is so small, trifling, or unimportant that it may safely be neglected or disregarded. Negligible carries no positive or negative force on its own; when it describes something undesirable, like damage, negligible can come as a relief: The couple was relieved to learn that water damage to their home was negligible. But when it is describing something more desirable, like financial growth, negligible can connote disappointment: Much to the chagrin of investors, the company’s growth in the last year was negligible.

When plants sprout, they begin to grow, or they put forth buds or shoots. Another way to talk about this early stage of growth is with the verb burgeon, which is defined as “to begin to grow, as a bud” or “to put forth buds, shoots, etc.” These meanings are very close, but like two tendrils striving for their own spot in the sun, sprout and burgeon have, over time, established their own semantic territories, with sprout being the preferred term for all things plant-based, and burgeon taking on a life of its own as the go-to verb for talking about people, places, and things that are growing or developing quickly, or that are flourishing—a sense that is more synonymous with the verbs thrive, flourish, and blossom.