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
Relevance
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
-
In addition to the music, train rides will be offered around the park for a nominal fee courtesy of the Poway-Midland Railroad.—
Elizabeth Marie Himchak,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Kim Yong Nam was not related to Kim Jong Un, but his loyalty to the ruling family enabled him to serve as president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly—the country's nominal head of state—from 1998 until April 2019.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Further, there’s no excuse for Congress to continue dawdling on farm policy.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The score indicates a slight improvement from the 2023-24 school year, when 26% of students achieved Level 3 or 4.—
Dmitry Martirosov,
Arkansas Online,
12 Nov. 2025
-
Katy Perry's manager appeared to take a slight dig at Wendy's, months after the fast food chain's comments about his pop star client.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Within a few moments, an antlerless deer emerged, loafing along toward Ronnie, completely unalarmed.—
Jim Moore,
Outdoor Life,
8 Oct. 2025
-
She is seen going over the shots planned for the next day and remembering that some loafing around is planned.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.—
Star Tribune,
Star Tribune,
3 Dec. 2020
-
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
Verb
-
Amazon is stocked with celeb-worthy chocolate and coffee-toned sneakers that blend comfort, support, and style—perfect for sightseeing, airport sprints, or just strolling through new cities.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Nov. 2025
-
This sighting comes six days after Lawrence kicked off her Halloween celebrations early in New York, where she was spotted strolling around in a black witch hat.—
Kelsey Stewart,
Footwear News,
1 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
At a time when the Mavericks need as much good will, or PR, as possible, filing a lawsuit against the Dallas Stars is petty, small and mean.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Her motives apparently range from a desire to save the country to unabashed, petty vindictiveness; the two often overlap.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The transcripts moved with her, idling among her papers.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Difficulty accelerating, misfiring, shuttering, and rough idling can indicate bad gasoline.—
Kamron Sanders,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Footling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/footling. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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