Definition of "niggling" []

• Petty, especially in a nagging or annoying way; trifling: a pointless dispute over niggling details. (adjective)
• Overly concerned with details; exacting and fussy. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "There was much less dish in the afternoon's testimony, and lots of the same kind of niggling that has made the defense so unpopular with the audience."
• "Having been accused at the beginning of that post of "niggling", I thought perhaps I ought to cut to the chase."
• "So, too, we should whenever practicable lay on our colours in washes; if we begin with stippling our drawings they will be "niggling," and will be sure to look poor and "spotty.""