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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in quibbling
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nitpicking
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 14 Sep. 2025
That might seem like nitpicking, except this is a franchise that has had the luxury of starting-caliber linemen as reserves.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Still, with star power and depth at all three levels of the defense, pointing out weaknesses is an act of nitpicking at this point.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Venus in Virgo loves precision, but be careful not to slide into scarcity thinking or nitpicking your progress.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 14 Sep. 2025
That might seem like nitpicking, except this is a franchise that has had the luxury of starting-caliber linemen as reserves.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Still, with star power and depth at all three levels of the defense, pointing out weaknesses is an act of nitpicking at this point.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpicking
Verb
-
Not that mom was complaining all that much about her daughter's efforts.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
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For decades state and local officials have joined ordinary Americans in complaining that FEMA's response to natural disasters is too slow and complicated.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
More support tickets, more quibbling, more negotiating.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
-
This was the mid 1980s and tandem skydiving hadn’t been popularized yet, so his father, Roger, adjusted accordingly by stuffing carpet padding into the leg pads to stop him from fussing.—
Angelina Liu,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The subtle side snap buttons leading down to the slit provide detail without being distracting, and the pointelle knit offers enough stretch and texture to hug your curves in all the right places.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Sep. 2025
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Chisholm took a subtle shot at the Marlins, noting what was holding him back.—
Aaliyan Mohammed,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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By making a subtle tweak out of possession, Slot looks to have addressed an issue that was niggling away at his side despite last season’s title victory.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nitpicking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpicking. Accessed 27 Sep. 2025.
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