Standard Lemma guide

nitpicky

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: N IH1 T P IH2 K IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Finicky; overly critical; concerned with insignificant details.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English nitpick Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English nitpicky From nitpick + -y.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: llepafils — overly critical
  • Chinese Mandarin: 挑剔 (tiāoti) — overly critical
  • Dutch: muggenzifterig — overly critical
  • Finnish: pikkumainen — overly critical
  • German: spitzfindig — overly critical
  • German: übergenau — overly critical
  • German: pedantisch — overly critical
  • German: überkorrekt — overly critical
  • Polish: drobiazgowy — overly critical
  • Russian: приди́рчивый (pridírčivyj) — overly critical
  • Spanish: quisquilloso — overly critical
  • Spanish: cositero — overly critical
  • Ottoman Turkish: تتیز (titiz) — overly critical