technicality

American  

[tek-ni-kal-i-tee] / ˌtɛk nɪˈkæl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

technicalities

1. technical character.

2. the use of technical methods or terms.

3. something that is technical; a technical point, detail, or expression.

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technicality British  

/ ˌtɛknɪˈkælɪtɪ /

noun

1. a petty formal point arising from a strict interpretation of rules, etc

   the case was dismissed on a technicality

2. the state or quality of being technical

3. technical methods and vocabulary

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Other Word Forms

• hypertechnicality noun
• overtechnicality noun

Etymology

Origin of technicality

First recorded in 1805–15; technical + -ity

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.

Example Sentences

The way he saw it, the Swedes were trying to win by technicality instead of skill on the ice.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

I grew up just outside Chicago, though “grew up” feels like a technicality.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2025

Mr Najim was freed due to a legal technicality, according to sources in Italy's interior ministry.

From BBC • Jul. 18, 2025

She claimed she was "expelled on a technicality" after years of internally campaigning for the party to treat "sex as a protected characteristic".

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2025

Dismayed, Elizebeth noted that some writers were “afraid of the technicality of the subject.”

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield