hairsplitting

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.

But Oedipus is in no mood for academic hairsplitting.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025

Instead of transparency, however, Mr. Hogan dissembled, backed by a Greek chorus of question-dodging, hairsplitting, fast-talking officials in his administration.

From Washington Post • Dec. 6, 2020

In a June 5 interview with The Associated Press, the attorney general gave a hairsplitting description of his role in directing the law enforcement actions.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2020

They generally involve rephrasing the accusation, then issuing a very narrowly-crafted and hairsplitting denial, while avoiding the central claim.

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2019

Even the study of the Talmud was abandoning simple, undistorted methods of interpretation, and espousing the hairsplitting dialectics of the northern French school.

From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Karpeles, Gustav