Word.ws English Dictionary

gnat-straining

gnat-straining noun: fuss or importance placed on trivial things, to the exclusion of more significant matters.

Noun

gnat-straining (uncountable)

  1. Fuss or importance placed on trivial things, to the exclusion of more significant matters.
    • Neither is it the case that gnat-straining leads to camel swallowing, nor tithe-paying to neglect of justice, mercy and faith.1995, Kenneth G. C. Newport, The Sources and Sitz Im Leben of Matthew 23, page 141

Origin of gnat-straining

From gnat + straining.

Words formed from gnat-straining

Questions about gnat-straining

What does gnat-straining mean?
Gnat-straining means fuss or importance placed on trivial things, to the exclusion of more significant matters.
What part of speech is gnat-straining?
Gnat-straining is a noun.

Words near gnat-straining in the dictionary

  1. gnat's prick
  2. gnat's whisker
  3. gnat-strain
  4. gnat-strainer
  5. gnat-strainers
  6. gnat-straining
  7. gnatcatcher
  8. gnatcatchers
  9. gnateater
  10. gnateaters
  11. gnath-

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gnat-straining (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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