Cavilous

adjective: Characterized by raising trivial objections or making petty criticisms; often aimed at nitpicking or quibbling over minor issues instead of addressing the broader points or deeper meanings. The term conveys a sense of being overly critical and focused on insignificant details, detracting from more significant discussions or decisions.

Cavilous meaning with examples

• During the committee meeting, Sarah's cavilous remarks about the font size of the presentation slides distracted everyone from the important budget discussions that needed attention.
• Despite the team's efforts to create a comprehensive plan, Mark's cavilous feedback about punctuation errors in the report prevented any real progress from being made.
• His cavilous attitude in the workshop made it challenging for others to share their ideas freely, as he constantly nitpicked every suggestion put forward.
• The cavilous nature of the online comments on the article overshadowed the valuable information it contained, reducing a meaningful discussion to a series of silly disputes.
• While reviewing the book for publication, the editor's cavilous focus on the author's choice of words detracted from the overall message and themes presented in the narrative.