nonissues
Problems that aren't
Nonissues are matters that lack real importance or controversy despite sometimes being treated as significant.
The term often dismisses concerns as unworthy of attention: The media keeps covering these nonissues while ignoring actual problems.
What counts as a nonissue is usually contested—one person's nonissue is another's pressing concern.
Lacking physical form; unimportant
- irrelevantNot pertinent
- extraneousNot pertinent or essential
- peripheralExternal computer add-on
- unrelatedHaving no link
inapplicable · off-topic · tangential · moot · academic · unconnected · incidental · foreign
Lacking significance or impact
- triflingOf no real importance
- pettyOf little importance
- piddlingInsignificantly small
- picayuneOf trivial importance
niggling · footling · trivial · negligible · inappreciable · nugatory · paltry · nominal
Excessive focus on trivialities
- quibblingPetty objection-raising
- pedanticExcessively concerned with minor rules
- punctiliousExcessively careful about details
- fussyExcessively particular
finicky · pernickety · nit-picking · overparticular · captious · caviling · fault-finding · hypercritical
Exceeding what suffices
- dispensableAble to be sacrificed
- inessentialNot strictly necessary
- nonessentialNot required or needed
- unneededNot required at all
expendable · gratuitous · redundant · surplus · optional · extraneous · unwarranted · uncalled-for
immaterial
Lacking physical form; unimportant
- irrelevantNot pertinent
- extraneousNot pertinent or essential
- peripheralExternal computer add-on
unrelated · inapplicable · off-topic · tangential · moot · academic · unconnected · incidental · foreign · unconnected
inconsequential
Lacking significance or impact
picayune · niggling · footling · trivial · negligible · inappreciable · nugatory · paltry · nominal · minor
hair-splitting
Excessive focus on trivialities
- quibblingPetty objection-raising
- pedanticExcessively concerned with minor rules
- punctiliousExcessively careful about details
fussy · finicky · pernickety · nit-picking · overparticular · captious · caviling · fault-finding · hypercritical · technicalities
superfluous
Exceeding what suffices
- dispensableAble to be sacrificed
- inessentialNot strictly necessary
- nonessentialNot required or needed
unneeded · expendable · gratuitous · redundant · surplus · optional · extraneous · unwarranted · uncalled-for · excessive
- nonproblemstrifles, trivia, molehills, false alarms, small stuff
- trivialitiestrivia, trifles, minutiae, small potatoes, peanuts
nonissuesissues
Matters requiring attention
problems · concerns · crises · priorities · emergencies