as in to complain
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 nitpick
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
However, some less-than-supportive viewers were quick to nitpick her glam choices for nationals, including her makeup for the final round.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 9 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
If there are things to nitpick, their film rejects the idea of the nitpicking.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nitpick
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 14 Sep. 2025
However, some less-than-supportive viewers were quick to nitpick her glam choices for nationals, including her makeup for the final round.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 9 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
If there are things to nitpick, their film rejects the idea of the nitpicking.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nitpick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpick
Verb
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In that appearance, Thilly moonwalked across the floor and performed a backspin before using his allotted five minutes to complain about rising taxes, according to CBS News New York.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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Another woman, 59, complained of back pain, per the outlets.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Those specific numbers can obviously be quibbled with.—
Aaron Gleeman,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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Joy Randolph and John Early, as the two Afterlife Coordinators, have a quibbling charisma, but the movie should have done more with all its possible versions of paradise, figuring out how to use them comedically instead of just as easy punchlines.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Naysayers often cavil that California’s economic growth depends almost entirely on Silicon Valley and the capital gains income of its wealthiest residents, but its primacy in high technology encompasses fields outside Northern California, such as biotech.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2021
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However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.—
Kelly Corbett,
House Beautiful,
7 Oct. 2020
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.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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The final Queen of France was often homesick and would fuss about the performative nature of her aristocratic duties.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Shannon moans right about the time Jenn walks out to see what the commotion is all about.—
Peter Larsen,
Oc Register,
10 Oct. 2025
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There’s something moaning in the background.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nitpick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpick. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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