hairsplitter

H4A1I1R1S1P3L1I1T1T1E1R1

noun

A stickler person who makes extremely, possibly excessively, fine distinctions (who would separate something as fine as a hair into two pieces and distinguish them).

Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounhairsplitter (plural hairsplitters)

plural hairsplitters · alternative hair-splitter

  1. A stickler person who makes extremely, possibly excessively, fine distinctions (who would separate something as fine as a hair into two pieces and distinguish them).

Origin

From hair + splitter.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hairsplitter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hairsplitter

MLA

“hairsplitter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hairsplitter. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hairsplitter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hairsplitter.

Source: hairsplitter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.