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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Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Webster was arraigned Wednesday on charges of assault with intent to murder and lying to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Yet technology experts warn that outsourcing key decisions to AI exposes consumers to risks, potentially leading to communications errors and costing people money, while also potentially handing hackers the keys to their data.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Nurses at the hospital continue to report staffing issues and high turnover rates while saying medication errors and delays in patient care are continuing to occur.—
Livi Stanford,
Hartford Courant,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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British police launched a criminal probe and arrested Mandelson in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office.—
Jill Lawless,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving her post amid an internal investigation brought on by complaints about misconduct by the secretary while in office.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The documents, however, do not provide any direct evidence of criminal wrongdoing.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Google has denied any wrongdoing.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There are worse sins in the world.—
Joshua Rothkopf,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
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Believers confess their sins to a priest, receive spiritual guidance and absolution and typically are required to make an act of contrition like saying specific prayers.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Peccadillo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peccadillo. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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