as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
the assistant's job was to shield the president from such footling problems
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dawdling
to spend time doing nothing
spent the morning footling about while others were working
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of footling
Barton Swaim, WSJ, 21 June 2019
Adjective
By comparison with previous Establishment Clause cases, however, this lawsuit looked footling and rather mean.
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 21 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for footling
Adjective
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Chris Lombardi, founder of Matador Records, recalls first pitching Perry’s idea to Stephen Malkmus, the band’s notoriously laconic chief songwriter, singer, guitarist and nominal leader.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
-
What’s more, most state parks have no admission fee while a few charge a nominal fee of a few dollars.—
Roger Sands,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
Adjective
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Despite a slight deceleration in the first quarter of 2025, the growth remained positive, with volume and revenue increasing by 1.1% and 1.52% respectively.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
3 May 2025
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Several rivers that have been flooded in Northern Texas could see a slight bump in water levels over the weekend, according to the National Water Prediction Service.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
Adjective
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Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.—
Star Tribune,
Star Tribune,
3 Dec. 2020
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Millions of additional claims are expected to stream in from around the country over the coming weeks, while hiring remains piddling.—
Patricia Cohen,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2020
Adjective
-
Baffert had long operated under a cloud of suspicion inside and outside of racing, thanks in part to his larger-than-life public persona and his utter domination of the competition on the racetrack – not to mention a series of other petty drug infractions in big races leading up to the 2021 Derby.—
Katie Bo Lillis,
CNN Money,
2 May 2025
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Mixed in with small pleasures and petty disputes with her older sister are true feats of survival and bravery.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
2 May 2025
Verb
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These include avoiding idling in drive-thru lanes, carpooling, taking public transit or walking, and biking for short trips.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
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What To Know To help reduce ozone formation, residents are encouraged to avoid idling in drive-thru lanes, and instead consider alternatives like sharing a ride or walking in.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Frankly, the more trifling the crime, the better this franchise’s comedy aspirations would work.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
-
With that much water needed for even the most trifling tasks, the natural question becomes: How does that water reach those data centers, let alone the world’s farms and factories?—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 May 2010
Verb
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The Modern Family alum could be seen lounging while wearing black bikini bottoms and holding a product from her Toty suncare brand.—
Brenton Blanchet,
People.com,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Those include a sitting area off the primary bedroom, a dining table on the narrow part of the deck, a patio outfitted for entertaining, and multiple options for lounging by the pool.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In the video above, the user added a tiny fairy bridge over her faux water scene.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 May 2025
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Several other drugs, including amantadine and apomorphine, can have similarly arousing effects, though none has worked in more than a tiny sliver of patients.—
Sarah Zhang,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Footling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/footling. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
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