1
as in small
not broad or open in views or opinions
a petty little town that was not ethnically diverse and very happy about the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
obsessed over even petty problems
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of petty
Nearly every starvation or dehydration victim had been arrested in the midst of a mental-health crisis, often on petty charges tied to their psychiatric distress.
—
Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Knowing how petty Donald Trump is, please keep in mind that the following story may be entirely the result of a 2002 disagreement over beauty pageants.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025
He’s gone after organizations like Special Olympics and the Brevard Zoo with threats of funding cuts, sponsored legislation that could land public officials in jail for doing their jobs and pursued petty personal vendettas.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2025
Days later, the California native hopped on X and taunted the Honestly Nevermind producer with a series of petty insults.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petty
Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Knowing how petty Donald Trump is, please keep in mind that the following story may be entirely the result of a 2002 disagreement over beauty pageants.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025
He’s gone after organizations like Special Olympics and the Brevard Zoo with threats of funding cuts, sponsored legislation that could land public officials in jail for doing their jobs and pursued petty personal vendettas.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2025
Days later, the California native hopped on X and taunted the Honestly Nevermind producer with a series of petty insults.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty
Adjective
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Although set in the small city, the movie was reportedly filmed in several locations in Louisiana.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
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Consider connecting with a public library, small book store or educational sectors willing to donate titles that support healing and wellness to add to the community library.—
Sahmie S. Wytewa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 May 2025
Adjective
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As the Signal chats showed, there are differences of opinion within Trump’s national-security team, and much more serious friction with the administration’s nominal allies in Europe.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2025
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The new duties raise the nominal U.S. tariff rate on China to 54%.—
Alain Sherter,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Driven together by anti-Western grievance and their own parochial interests, China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia are creating substantial authoritarian scale.—
Kurt M. Campbell,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Apr. 2025
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The plum political prize, of course, will be deciding how congressional districts are drawn, perhaps giving this parochial court a major say in which party—and its preferred Speaker—gets to run the U.S. House.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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In March, Stefanik had to give up plans to represent the U.S. at the United Nations amid concerns that House Republicans, working with a narrow majority, couldn’t afford to lose her vote.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
1 May 2025
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The package of tax reductions and sweeping spending cuts faces headwinds from opposition Democrats and some Republicans worried about the federal deficit, and the GOP's narrow House majority leaves no room for error.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
1 May 2025
Adjective
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Philosophers are in a unique place to solve this riddle as current events are largely trivial in their work.—
Theodore McDarrah,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
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It may be generally dismissed as trivial, but Bernstein conducted it with characterful nostalgia and Dudamel has found in it vibrant new spirit.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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His use of a century’s old wartime law to deport undocumented migrants with little or no due process to a notorious prison in El Salvador under scrutiny after the administration deported at least one migrant there by mistake.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2025
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Tesla is all over the news these days but little of it is positive after the company posted its worst results in four years in the first quarter.—
Brooke Crothers,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
Adjective
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Frankly, the more trifling the crime, the better this franchise’s comedy aspirations would work.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Petty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petty. Accessed 10 May. 2025.
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