Nitpicking: meaning, definitions and examples

Used when someone is focusing on small, trivial, or insignificant details, often unnecessarily. It can be seen as negative because it implies annoying or overly critical behavior.

• She was nitpicking every minor mistake in his report, even though it was generally excellent.
• Stop with the nitpicking and look at the bigger picture.

Appropriate for discussing feedback or analysis of someone's work, behavior, or ideas, which can be either constructive or destructive. It doesn't necessarily have a negative connotation, but the intent behind it can vary.

• His constructive criticism helped me improve my writing skills.
• The movie received mixed criticism from the audience.

Used when someone is habitually or excessively searching for and mentioning faults or mistakes. It has a negative connotation because it suggests a negative attitude and lack of appreciation.

• Her constant fault-finding was demoralizing for her team.
• Instead of fault-finding, try to appreciate the efforts made.

Used when someone is focusing on very small, often unimportant distinctions or differences. It suggests unnecessary and overly detailed arguments, typically seen as negative.

• Let's not waste time hair-splitting over minor details.
• His hair-splitting arguments became quite tiresome after a while.

Use when someone is pointing out minor or insignificant errors or details, often in an annoying way.

• Stop nitpicking and appreciate the effort put into this project.
• Her constant nitpicking about grammar mistakes is getting on my nerves.

Use when someone is overly concerned with trivial or insignificant matters, often leading to pettiness or disputes over unimportant things.

• Their petty arguments over who gets the bigger office are wasting time.
• She can be so petty about the smallest things, like who forgot to turn off the lights.

Use to describe something that is of little value or importance, suggesting it does not deserve much attention.

• The issue is trivial and doesn't require an entire meeting to discuss.
• We shouldn't let these trivial matters distract us from our main goals.

Use when describing someone who tends to find fault or raise objections, often in a way that seems unnecessary or overly critical.

• The captious reviewer found flaws in even the most well-crafted aspects of the movie.
• His captious comments during meetings make it difficult to reach any decisions.