noun
-
a petty formal point arising from a strict interpretation of rules, etc
the case was dismissed on a technicality
-
the state or quality of being technical
-
technical methods and vocabulary
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Guts
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Just Mercy
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The case was tossed out in September based on a legal technicality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
He’s trying to get her papers, and there was a technicality in there—she had crossed over and not said it and is getting deported.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
“The fiduciary point is the part most people miss, and it sounds like a technicality until it’s your data,” Jeff Judge, CFP at Chesapeake Financial Planners, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
To some employees, the executive’s explanation was a semantic shield, a technicality used to protect the Gates brand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
I lost the bet on a technicality because examples were produced of solutions with a singularity that was visible from a long way away.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Sticklers will note that “Roughing It” is supposedly nonfiction, but when was Mark Twain ever bound by technicalities, much less facts?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
“The Fed staff is going to have the chance to educate the incoming chair on some of the technicalities that might have him rethink some of what he’s written,” Shenfeld said.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
And when the technicalities of A.I. detection collide with cancel culture, it does not lead anywhere productive.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026
I always knew that this was what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know the technicalities of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
She signed the letters Love, but it wasn’t love, and all the fine lines and technicalities did not matter.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
