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Meaning & use

minutiae

noun·Advancedformal

Last updated

UK/maɪˈnjuː.ʃi.iː/
US/məˈnuː.ʃi.iː/

Meanings

  1. nounpluralformal

    The small, exact details of something, especially ones that seem minor or tedious.

    Grammar: Takes a plural verb: the minutiae are boring. It is usually followed by of: the minutiae of daily life.

    Patterns

    • the minutiae of something
    • get lost in the minutiae

    She got lost in the minutiae of the contract.

    Historians study the minutiae of everyday life in the 1800s.

    I don't care about the minutiae; just tell me the result.

  2. nounpluraldisapproving

    Unimportant particulars that distract from the larger picture, often in negative contexts.

    Grammar: Sometimes used with a disapproving tone about people who fuss over details.

    Patterns

    • bogged down in minutiae

    The meeting was bogged down in minutiae.

    He wasted hours on bureaucratic minutiae.

    Don't let minutiae distract you from the project's goal.

Word forms

singularminutia

Common combinations

the minutiae of daily life
The novel describes the minutiae of daily life in a village.
bogged down in minutiae
The committee was bogged down in minutiae.
legal minutiae
Lawyers love legal minutiae.
obsess over minutiae
Don't obsess over minutiae when the deadline is close.
mastery of the minutiae
Her mastery of the minutiae impressed the auditors.

Synonyms and how they differ

details
Details is the everyday word for small facts and is neutral, while minutiae implies they are very small and often tedious.
particulars
Particulars is formal and means specific facts, often in legal or official contexts, without the tedious sense of minutiae.
trivia
Trivia means unimportant facts, often fun to know, while minutiae are tiny details within a larger subject.
nitty-gritty
Nitty-gritty is informal and means the practical basic details, usually positive, whereas minutiae suggests tiny details.

Opposites

big pictureessentials

Word family

minute adjective
extremely small, pronounced my-NYOOT
minutia noun
a rare singular form for one small detail
minutely adverb
in a very small or precise way
minuteness noun
the state of being very small

Commonly confused: minutiae or minute?

minutiae vs minute

The noun minute, as in sixty seconds, is pronounced MIN-it and is unrelated to the adjective minute, meaning tiny, from the same Latin root as minutiae.

Practice

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