as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
her husband nitpicks about everything: from how she puts the plates away to how she files the bills
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nitpick
People are sick of the Biden administration’s excessive overreach, including the intention to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents to nitpick every aspect of their lives.
—
Carol Miller, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Or perhaps division, as outsiders begin to nitpick the juggernaut and single out which players are most important to the pursuit.
—Kyle Tucker, The Athletic, 4 Apr. 2024
Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.
—Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
This isn’t to nitpick but to suggest there are deeper questions about the way true crime participates in cultural imaginings of empathy that could be explored even within these productions.
—Alessa Dominguez, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nitpick 
Carol Miller, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Or perhaps division, as outsiders begin to nitpick the juggernaut and single out which players are most important to the pursuit.
—Kyle Tucker, The Athletic, 4 Apr. 2024
Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.
—Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
This isn’t to nitpick but to suggest there are deeper questions about the way true crime participates in cultural imaginings of empathy that could be explored even within these productions.
—Alessa Dominguez, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nitpick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpick
Verb
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Many residents at the town hall complained about feeling unsafe at their local Giant or Weis supermarkets, seeing panhandlers, loitering and graffiti in and around these areas.—
Racquel Bazos,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Jan. 2025
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Some of the agency’s top Middle East diplomats complained in private that they were sidelined by Biden’s National Security Council.—
Brett Murphy,
ProPublica,
15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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There were critiques: some philosophers quibbled with the specifics of Paul’s decision modelling, others with the solipsism of focussing so much on the expectant parent rather than on the child or the world writ large.—
Alice Gregory,
The New Yorker,
2 Dec. 2024
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While Yankees fans can quibble over whether outlandish performance bonuses, opt-out clauses and use of a private suite should have been included in their bid for Soto, a more important question remains: what will the Yankees do with all that leftover cash?—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Naysayers often cavil that California’s economic growth depends almost entirely on Silicon Valley and the capital gains income of its wealthiest residents, but its primacy in high technology encompasses fields outside Northern California, such as biotech.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2021
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However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.—
Kelly Corbett,
House Beautiful,
7 Oct. 2020
Verb
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Palmieri also has a 16-team no-trade list but, like Nelson, certainly should not be fussed about being moved to a Cup contender for a few months.—
Arthur Staple,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
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Later that day, the boys fuss around their grandmother at the dinner table.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
13 Sep. 2024
Verb
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Jasmine moans with pleasure as Gino traces her legs with his tongue.—
Abigail Adams,
People.com,
22 Dec. 2024
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Many of the patients were critically ill and moaning in pain from broken bones, head gashes and other injuries blamed on Tropical Storm Helene.—
Beth Warren,
The Tennessean,
20 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near nitpick
Cite this Entry
“Nitpick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpick. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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