hairsplitting
noun
the making of unnecessarily fine distinctions.
hairsplitter
-
a word derived from
hairsplitting.
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.
Still grieving her loss, he’s in no mood to be harassed by an ambitious Harvard hairsplitter who thinks creative nonfiction is an oxymoron.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2018
Senator Robert Taft, a hairsplitter to his enemies, a Blackstone to his friends, exploded a bomb under his fellow Americans.
From Time Magazine Archive
