hairsplitting

3 definitions found

hairsplitting - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Hairsplitting \Hair"split`ting\ (-t[i^]ng), a.
     Making excessively fine or trivial distinctions in reasoning;
     overly subtle. -- n. The act or practice of making trivial
     distinctions.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           The ancient hairsplitting technicalities of special
           pleading.                                --Charles
                                                    Sumner.
     [1913 Webster]

hairsplitting - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  hairsplitting
      adj 1: developed in excessively fine detail; "finespun
             distinctions" [syn: finespun, hairsplitting]
      n 1: making too fine distinctions of little importance; "they
           didn't take his hairsplitting seriously" [syn:
           hairsplitting, word-splitting]

hairsplitting - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  119 Moby Thesaurus words for "hairsplitting":
     adverse criticism, animadversion, aspersion, bad notices,
     bad press, bickering, boggling, captious, captiousness, carping,
     cavil, caviling, censoriousness, chicane, chicanery, choplogic,
     contradistinction, critical, criticism, cynical, delicate,
     demarcation, differentiation, distinction, distinctiveness,
     distinguishment, division, dodging, equivocation, equivocatory,
     evasion, evasive, exception, faultfinding, fencing, finespun, flak,
     hairline, hedging, hit, home thrust, hostile criticism,
     hypercritical, hypercriticalness, hypercriticism, hypersensitive,
     hypersensitivity, imputation, knock, logic-chopping,
     microscopic distinction, morbid sensibility, morbidly sensitive,
     nagging, nice, nice distinction, niggle, niggling, nit,
     nit-picking, nuance, obloquy, overconscientious,
     overconscientiousness, overcritical, overcriticalness,
     overfastidious, overfastidiousness, overmeticulous,
     overmeticulousness, overnice, overniceness, overnicety,
     overparticular, overparticularity, overprecise, overrefined,
     overrefinement, overscrupulous, overscrupulousness, oversensitive,
     oversensitivity, oversqueamish, oversqueamishness, paltering,
     parrying, pestering, pettifoggery, pettifogging, petty, picayune,
     prevarication, priggishness, pussyfooting, quibble, quibbling, rap,
     refined, reflection, reproachfulness, segregation, separation,
     shade of difference, shifting, shuffling, sidestepping, slam,
     stricture, subterfuge, subtle, subtle distinction, swipe,
     taking exception, tergiversation, trichoschistic, trichoschistism,
     trifling, trivial, ultracritical