hair-splitting

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In his written judgement, Mr Justice Knowles said the grounds on which the panel had rejected the judge's application for relocation amounted to "semantic hair-splitting".

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2024

VOA’s stance has led to some intricate hair-splitting.

From Washington Times • Oct. 25, 2023

And so, after all the parsing and hair-splitting, we come to the heartfelt, rough-hewn denials.

From Salon • Jun. 30, 2023

“I was a hair-splitting moralist, judgmental and proud,” he admits.

From Washington Post • Nov. 29, 2022

For he thought hair-splitting on such matters useless, as Plato also says in his 'Euthydemus.'

From Library of the World's Best literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 12 by Various