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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nitpicking
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2026
Now, Cleveland desperately needs some guys with track records — Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo and, if nitpicking, José Ramírez — to show signs of life, and the club could flaunt its most formidable offense in years.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 12 May 2026
That meant making some hard choices and nitpicking reasons for why one place shouldn't be included.
—Will Richmond, The Providence Journal, 11 Apr. 2026
Notorious for nitpicking every small mistake after big victories, the Texas women’s head basketball coach was downright dismissive of any flaws in his team’s Sweet 16 win over Kentucky.
—Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle, 28 Mar. 2026
While her intentions may stem from concern, her nitpicking mirrors this Earth sign’s shadow side.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
The key is not nitpicking yourself into paralysis… done is better than perfect.
—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
Verb
And the backdrop of worldwide unrest and escalating nuclear threat is subtle to a fault, though that’s just nitpicking.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2026
Now, Cleveland desperately needs some guys with track records — Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo and, if nitpicking, José Ramírez — to show signs of life, and the club could flaunt its most formidable offense in years.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 12 May 2026
That meant making some hard choices and nitpicking reasons for why one place shouldn't be included.
—Will Richmond, The Providence Journal, 11 Apr. 2026
Notorious for nitpicking every small mistake after big victories, the Texas women’s head basketball coach was downright dismissive of any flaws in his team’s Sweet 16 win over Kentucky.
—Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle, 28 Mar. 2026
While her intentions may stem from concern, her nitpicking mirrors this Earth sign’s shadow side.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
The key is not nitpicking yourself into paralysis… done is better than perfect.
—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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpicking
Adjective
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The perpetual buzz of mining bees mingled with the shuffle of rabbits through the bushes, woodpeckers’ rapid-fire drilling, and the hard-staccato tchack, tchack, tchack of ravenlike birds known as jackdaws, creating a subtle symphony.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
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Look for alcohol-free, subtle formulas the goal is a whisper of fragrance, not a perfume cloud that announces itself from across the room.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The amplifying of complaining subcontractors, always easy to find.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2026
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But many Spotify users voiced displeasure at the change-up, with some complaining that the disco ball looked pixelated on a small phone screen and, generally, was visually displeasing.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Verb
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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
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When the murder of 100,000 people, many of them women and children, is mentioned or denounced, or when someone dares to use terms such as genocide, ethnocide, ethnic cleansing or similar, most people choose to take issue with the characterization, quibbling over semantics.—
Uriel Kon
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Emma looked around, confused at the adults fussing around him and too young, perhaps, to grasp the severity of the scene.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
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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
Verb
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The stuff with a load of people wearing wigs moaning about taxes just isn’t seen as very glamorous.—
Sean Woods,
Rolling Stone,
25 May 2026
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There are kerfuffles down at the hardware store, and a moaning moose makes his presence known near the motel where Ulysses is staying.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This helped lessen his niggling injuries and enabled Antonio to continue representing Jamaica’s national team.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
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Henry dismisses Yasmin but can’t shake the niggling feeling that his wife isn’t entirely wrong.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For those carping that the name once belonged to a high-major conference that included Louisville, Memphis, Cincinnati … yeah, what’s your point?—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
31 May 2026
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Trump’s carping notwithstanding, economic growth spiked during Powell’s first year to 3 percent, the highest since the mid-2000s, and wages rose at the fastest rate since before the financial crisis.—
Roger Lowenstein,
The Atlantic,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nitpicking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpicking. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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