nit-picky

Nit-picky is an informal way to describe someone who is overly focused on tiny, unimportant details, especially when criticizing something. It can also be used to describe such criticism.

Nitpick (or nit-pick) is a verb meaning to point out the very minor flaws or mistakes in something, or to criticize it in this way. Nit-picky turns this action into an adjective. It is sometimes seen without a hyphen (nitpicky).

Example: Mrs. Jones is always so nit-picky when she grades our English papers—she takes points off for word choices that aren’t even mistakes!

The first records of the word nitpick come from the mid-1900s, and nit-picky is first recorded in the 1960s. Nits are the eggs or young of lice. They are extremely tiny and hard to see with the naked eye. To pick nits out of someone’s hair is extremely tedious (or painstaking, if you’re being nit-picky about it).

Of course, it’s important to pick nits out of hair. But someone who’s described as nit-picky isn’t picking out important things. They’re pointing out tiny mistakes or criticizing small things, often simply to complain or show that they’ve noticed them. There are other, more neutral ways to describe someone who is very particular about things, such as saying that they’re meticulous or exacting. But nit-picky is always used in a negative way.

Someone who’s nit-picky cares a little too much about things that other people probably won’t even notice or consider to be a problem. It seems like nothing is ever perfect for a nit-picky person—they find something wrong in anything that’s presented to them, so they’re often also thought of as pessimistic. The word tends to be used in situations where things are presented for review or criticism. An editor’s changes might be considered nit-picky if they’re about very minor issues. A boss or teacher might be called nit-picky (behind their back) if they manage to find “mistakes” in every project or piece of work.

What are some other forms of nit-picky?

• nitpick (verb)
• nitpicking (noun, verb)
• nitpicker (noun)

What are some synonyms for nit-picky?

• persnickety
• overparticular
• fussy
• finicky

What are some words that share a root or word element with nit-picky?

• nit
• pick

What are some words that often get used in discussing nit-picky?

• critical
• pessimistic
• minor
• flaw
• error
• mistake
• editor

Nit-picky is very informal and is always used negatively, especially in contexts where people examine little details.

This is the most nit-picky of complaints, but it bugs me when a clock or watch appears in a film/TV show set pre-1980's and the second hand "ticks" at one beat per second. Mechanical second-hands sweep continuously. #horologytwitter

— G. will be at ECCC JJ-13 (@GWillowWilson) September 19, 2019

As an editor, I wish more reviewers would write reports like this. If a paper is nicely done, reviewers shouldn't feel like doing their job requires identifying nit-picky errors just to have written "a report."

— Brigitte Madrian (@BrigitteMadrian) July 10, 2019

Writing question: I feel like this will vary significantly from person to person so I am curious, when do you decide to show your work to others? I like to show my screenplays at the point my personal notes become more nit-picky than truly constructive changes. #writer

— Emily Moore (@Emily_Is_Moore) November 25, 2019

Is nit-picky used correctly in the following sentence?

James called Kim nit-picky after she listed every single little thing that they got wrong in the historical movie.