as in crime
a small mistake or fault that is not regarded as very bad or serious
His political career was marked by numerous peccadillos, but no huge scandals.
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Recent Examples of peccadillo
But as the capital merry-go-round spun its peccadilloes, scandals and ballyhooed promises, his jaunty baritone restored order with bipartisan japes and irreverent songs to deflate the preening ego and the Big Idea. Presidents from Eisenhower to Trump caught the flak.
—
Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2023
What if the new boss’ weird peccadilloes — Patoff abolishes work-from-home, abruptly fires a staffer whose smell displeases him and thinks nothing of making 3 a.m. phone calls and demands — escalate?
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2023
He’s simply been willing to overlook a peccadillo or two if the guy’s good enough.
—Dallas News, 20 Feb. 2023
Sadly, performance and build quality didn’t live up to the promise, and fewer than 9,000 units were made by the time the entire operation was shuttered following John DeLorean’s white-powder peccadillo.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 29 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for peccadillo
Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2023
What if the new boss’ weird peccadilloes — Patoff abolishes work-from-home, abruptly fires a staffer whose smell displeases him and thinks nothing of making 3 a.m. phone calls and demands — escalate?
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2023
He’s simply been willing to overlook a peccadillo or two if the guy’s good enough.
—Dallas News, 20 Feb. 2023
Sadly, performance and build quality didn’t live up to the promise, and fewer than 9,000 units were made by the time the entire operation was shuttered following John DeLorean’s white-powder peccadillo.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 29 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for peccadillo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peccadillo
Noun
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Tennessee law holds that those who committed crimes before 1999 can choose between being put to death by lethal injection or the electric chair.—
Evan Mealins,
Nashville Tennessean,
3 Oct. 2025
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The office's programming extends to other areas as well, including domestic violence, human trafficking and interacting with victims of crimes.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Vehicles included in this recall may have an error in the instrument panel software at startup, failing to show speed, brake system information, and tire pressure warning lights.—
Olivia Evans,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
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Yes, plenty of errors were made — six of them by shortstop Trevor Story in September alone — but errors are different from gaffes.—
Steve Buckley,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ottawa’s best players were out of sync, took too many penalties and were literally left battered and bloody after fights and misconduct penalties.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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Previous stars include Curtiss Cook, who left after season 6, Ntare Mwine, who left after season 3, and original series star Jason Mitchell, who was dropped from The Chi in 2019 amid misconduct allegations.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Although there are no allegations of wrongdoing by the firm, the head of Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre told the paper that Beijing's link was of concern because whoever controlled the cable had access to its data traffic.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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DeSantis has denied wrongdoing.—
Lawrence Mower,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Their sins will be washed away by the waters of liberty.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
26 Sep. 2025
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Maybe she’s being punished for her sin?—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Peccadillo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peccadillo. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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