Meanings
plural hair-splittings · alternative hair splitting · alternative hairsplitting
- countablederogatoryidiomaticuncountableThe act of considering or arguing about exceedingly small differences, fine details, and/or edge cases of no seeming importance, worrying about minutiae.
Regardless of the ultimate judgment and any hair splitting, the CIA seemed to many Americans to have regressed to and even surpassed its criminal-like behavior during the pre-Church Committee hearings era.
2014, Richard H. Immerman, The Hidden Hand: A Brief History of the CIASynonyms: hair-splittery, pedantry, pilpul, casuistry, casuistics, Jesuitism, Jesuitry
comparative more hair-splitting · superlative most hair-splitting · alternative hair splitting · alternative hairsplitting
- derogatoryidiomaticOf or characterized by hair-splitting, seeking or having exceedingly small differences, fine details, and/or edge cases of no seeming importance, concerning or concerned with minutiae.
2006, Ian Aitken, in The Guardian, Richard Clements Obituary Dick's Tribune poked endless fun at the hair-splitting sectarianism of the various Trotskyist groups jostling on the fringes of the Labour party at that time.
Synonyms: pedantic, casuistic, casuistical, jesuitic, jesuitical, Talmudic, pilpulic, pilpulistic
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe act of considering or arguing about exceedingly small differences, fine details, and/or edge cases of no seeming importance, worrying about minutiae.
adjectiveOf or characterized by hair-splitting, seeking or having exceedingly small differences, fine details, and/or edge cases of no seeming importance, concerning or concerned with minutiae.
Origin
Translations
Czech puntičkářství, hnidopišství
- puntičkářstvíthe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
- hnidopišstvíthe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
- pedantstvíthe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Finnish hiusten halkominen
- hiusten halkominenthe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
French enculage de mouches, couper les cheveux en quatre
- enculage de mouchesthe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
- couper les cheveux en quatrethe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
- pinaillagethe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
- diptérosodomiethe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
German Haarspalterei
- Haarspaltereithe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Hungarian szőrszálhasogatás
- szőrszálhasogatásthe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Icelandic hártogun
- hártogunthe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Italian spaccare il cappello in quattro
- spaccare il cappello in quattrothe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Norwegian Bokmål hårkløveri
- hårkløverithe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Polish dzielenie włosa na czworo
- dzielenie włosa na czworothe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Russian дото́шность, зану́дство
- дото́шность (dotóšnostʹ)the act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
- зану́дство (zanúdstvo)the act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
- въе́дливость (vʺjédlivostʹ)the act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Swedish hårklyveri
- hårklyverithe act of finding exceedingly small differences which are neither important nor prominent
Cite this entry
hair-splitting. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hair-splitting
“hair-splitting.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hair-splitting. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hair-splitting,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hair-splitting.
Source: hair-splitting on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.