as in quibbling
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as in complaining
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
her husband nitpicks about everything: from how she puts the plates away to how she files the bills
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nitpicking
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 4 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, nitpicking from Stewart is always welcome.
—Kansas City Star, 6 Dec. 2025
There are some who are not a fan of this upcoming quarterback class at all and have been nitpicking red flags with many of the top prospects at the position like Mendoza, Dante Moore and Ty Simpson.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
But that certainly didn’t stop the critics from nitpicking everything from her rocking sleeveless dresses to not wearing hosiery.
—Essence, 7 Nov. 2025
Certainly no other fan base will feel sorry for Blackhawks fans, but man, what Blackhawks fans wouldn’t give to be nitpicking a coach’s decision about who plays right wing on the fourth line again rather than checking out who’ll be available at the top of the draft in June.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Filmmaking is nitpicking, anxiety, fights, claustrophobia, exhaustion, euphoria.
—Susan Sontag, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2025
Ultimately, though, Braun’s priority through all the number-nitpicking negotiations was to stay in Denver.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Oct. 2025
Just keep an eye on the run defense In a dominating win like Sunday’s, looking for any negatives is nitpicking, but the Cowboys’ run defense struggles are worth highlighting.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
The key is not nitpicking yourself into paralysis… done is better than perfect.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpicking
Adjective
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More support tickets, more quibbling, more negotiating.—
Verb
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But the same town also was sued in November by Stillson LLC, a company complaining because zoners approved an 8-30g project.—
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From bartenders in Virginia-Highland to servers in Alpharetta, several employees of food and drink businesses reported customers complaining about water that tastes like mildew.—
Adjective
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With her signature long waves gathered into a subtle bun at the nape of her neck, this style puts the focus on the sculptural wave framing Seyfried's face opposite a deep side part.—
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Grande wore a glossy pink shade on her lips, sculpted cheeks with subtle shimmer, and long lashes.—
Verb
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As the migrants boarded, a man hoisted one of the passengers in the air, a fussing 8-month-old baby whose face was flushed red from the heat.—
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With five blades sandwiched between two moisturizing bars, this razor speeds up the entire process (no fussing around with shaving cream), nourishing dry skin and making nicks a rare occurrence.—
Verb
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While lying on the pavement, he could be heard moaning as an officer shouted at him not to move.—
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There’s something moaning in the background.—
Verb
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With good cause, too, as Paul Mullin had become such an integral figure by the 2022-23 National League run-in that a niggling knee problem was enough to prompt the club to go out and buy Barrow’s Billy Waters as cover.—
Verb
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Should the pattern hold true throughout the long march to the Super Bowl, nobody’s going to be carping about the official headcount.—
Cite this Entry
“Nitpicking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpicking. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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