nitpick wording; carp at words; cavil
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to nitpick about wording; to find fault with the choice of words; to cavil at diction
informal通常指对他人的言语表达进行过度、琐碎的批评，多带有贬义。常与‘爱’‘喜欢’‘专门’等副词连用。
Nǐ你
bié别
lǎo老
shì是
tiāo挑
zì字
yǎn眼
ér儿
，
lǐ理
jiě解
dà大
yì意
jiù就
xíng行
le了
。
Don't always nitpick the wording; just understanding the main idea is enough.
Tā他
shuō说
huà话
hěn很
jǐn谨
shèn慎
，
shēng生
pà怕
bèi被
bié别
rén人
tiāo挑
zì字
yǎn眼
ér儿
zhuā抓
zhù住
bǎ把
bǐng柄
。
He speaks very carefully, afraid that others will nitpick his words and catch him out.
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Píng评
lùn论
wén文
zhāng章
yào要
kàn看
zhěng整
tǐ体
guān观
diǎn点
，
bú不
yào要
zhuān专
mén门
tiāo挑
zì字
yǎn眼
ér儿
。
When reviewing an article, look at the overall viewpoint; don't deliberately nitpick the wording.
Tā她
zhè这
rén人
ài爱
tiāo挑
zì字
yǎn眼
ér儿
，
ràng让
rén人
jué觉
de得
hěn很
nán难
xiāng相
chǔ处
。
She is someone who loves nitpicking words, making her seem difficult to get along with.