1. the act of making unnecessarily fine distinctions or focusing on trivial differences

1. characterized by making overly fine or trivial distinctions

Examples

• The lawyer’s hairsplitting over contract language delayed the negotiations.
• Stop your hairsplitting and focus on the main issue.
• His hairsplitting arguments missed the bigger picture entirely.
• The professor’s hairsplitting critique frustrated the students.
• She accused him of hairsplitting when he corrected her minor error.
• The debate devolved into hairsplitting over definitions.
• Their hairsplitting approach to the rules made the game less fun.