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Definition of hair-splitting noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

hair-splitting

noun

/ˈheə splɪtɪŋ/

/ˈher splɪtɪŋ/

[uncountable] (disapproving)Idioms

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the act of giving too much importance to small and unimportant differences in an argument synonym quibbleTopics Opinion and argumentc2

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Idioms

split hairs

to pay too much attention in an argument to differences that are very small and not importantTopics Opinion and argumentc2

See hair-splitting in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Check pronunciation: hair-splitting

Nearby words

noun

From the Word list

B2

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