SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS

nitpicking

noun

Excessive or unjustified criticism of very small details.

Compare the alternatives Definition and examples

Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.

Petty faultfinding

Closest synonyms

faultfinding quibbling carping caviling hairsplitting

Related words and expressions

These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.

Usage distinction

Nitpicking criticizes attention to tiny faults when it is disproportionate or unhelpful; careful editing need not be nitpicking.

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CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT

See nitpicking in use

Debating the spacing of every comma turned useful editing into nitpicking.

Dictionary practice example.

Later, the manager distinguished a real seating problem from nitpicking about whether a reusable mug matched the kitchen's paint.

From Feedback Without Needless Friction.

Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.

Synonym reference scope and sources

The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.

How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license

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