noun
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a petty formal point arising from a strict interpretation of rules, etc
the case was dismissed on a technicality
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the state or quality of being technical
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technical methods and vocabulary
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of technicality
Explanation
A technicality is a trivial or very small detail. You might consider your scuffed, unpolished shoes to be an unimportant technicality when you're dressing for a job interview. You can use the noun technicality for any small point or detail, but it's most likely to come up in the context of a court trial or a conversation with an attorney. A legal technicality is a small but ultimately important detail of the law. For example, a robbery suspect might have his trial dismissed on a legal technicality if the arresting police officer neglected to show him a search warrant before searching his house.
Vocabulary lists containing technicality
Guts
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It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
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Just Mercy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The classification may sound like a technicality, but it matters because hundreds of exchange-traded funds and mutual funds base their allocations on the indexes’ classifications.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
The decision turned on a technicality: Police demanded the surrender of four German shepherds; the disputed dogs are, in fact, one Dutch shepherd and three Belgian Malinois.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026
I grew up just outside Chicago, though “grew up” feels like a technicality.
From Salon • Dec. 7, 2025
But a recent attempt to take it to court by the South African Human Rights Commission failed on a technicality, effectively allowing the group to continue its campaign.
From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025
After pulling off one of the great suburban escapes of all time, I’m getting sidelined on a technicality.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
