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hair-splitting

hair-split·ting
H h

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [hair split-ing]
    • /hɛər ˈsplɪt ɪŋ/
    • /heə(r) ˈsplɪt.ɪŋ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [hair split-ing]
    • /hɛər ˈsplɪt ɪŋ/

Definitions of hair-splitting word

  • noun hair-splitting the making of unnecessarily fine distinctions. 1
  • adjective hair-splitting characterized by such distinctions: the hairsplitting arguments of a political debate. 1
See all 2 definitions of hair-splitting

Information block about the term

Origin of hair-splitting

First appearance:

before 1820
One of the 38% newest English words
First recorded in 1820-30; hair + splitting

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Hair-splitting

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Hair-splitting

hair-splitting popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 44% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 51% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

Synonyms for hair-splitting

adj hair-splitting

  • carping — tending to make petty complaints; fault-finding
  • censorious — If you describe someone as censorious, you do not like the way they strongly disapprove of and criticize someone else's behaviour.
  • critical — If a person is critical or in a critical condition in hospital, they are seriously ill.
  • demanding — A demanding job or task requires a lot of your time, energy, or attention.
  • faultfinding — the act of pointing out faults, especially faults of a petty nature; carping.
All 11 Synonyms of hair-splitting

Antonyms for hair-splitting

noun hair-splitting

  • facing — the front part of the head, from the forehead to the chin.
Just one Antonym for hair-splitting

See also

Matching words

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