word-splitting
- noun
:
distinción excesiva
- The debate turned into endless word-splitting about the definition of a single term.
Examples
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Some critics accuse the court of word-splitting rather than addressing the core issue.
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His constant word-splitting frustrates everyone in the meeting.
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His word-splitting was seen as unhelpful during the negotiations.
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Is word-splitting really necessary for this discussion?
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His word-splitting during the discussions led to confusion and wasted time.
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The team's word-splitting over minor details prevented them from making a decision.
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Critics noted that her word-splitting on trivial matters distracted from the important issues.
Synonyms
2
8.4
Paying too much attention to small rules and details to show you know a lot
1
7.7
Making very small, unimportant differences in an argument or discussion
1
8.2
Paying too much attention to small unimportant details in a debate
Being too focused on small rules and details in a way that annoys people
Too much detail or decoration that makes things complicated
Antonyms
How Pedantic
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Word-splitting comes from word and split, and you can think of it like 'splitting hairs', making very small differences about words. So it means arguing over tiny word choices instead of the main point.