Thesaurus results for PETTIFOGGER

pettifogger

noun

Definition of pettifogger

as in lawyer

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as in quibbler

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pettifogger For nearly three years now, I’ve been fascinated by the performance art of this blustering pettifogger. — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pettifogger

Noun

Lawyers for the estate countered Monday that SAPS, as a corporate defendant, could not represent itself and was required to appear through a lawyer.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
Roberts later pressed Kevin Russell, a lawyer for the Boulder officials, on the practical implications of siding with his position.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of lawyer

Noun

Among Steinbeck purists, giving Cathy a trauma backstory has proven a controversial move — one that just might turn the story’s main moral on its head.

— Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026
Perhaps the New York bagel purists will convince Atlantans to embrace the soft interior and chewy exterior of an untoasted New York bagel.

— Sheeka Sanahori, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of purist

Noun

The despicable Lindsay Clancy lawyer, using a repulsive alternative defense, shows the egregious chutzpah some shysters resort to to get a client off.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026
The filmmaker has likened his perspective in this project to that of Dorothy’s dog Toto in The Wizard of Oz, alert to the shuffling feet beneath the curtain rather than being bamboozled by the shyster title character’s techno showmanship.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of shyster

Noun

Twenty-seven states have passed laws ensuring that defendants in consumer debt cases have the right to an attorney once jail time becomes a possibility, Jones said.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 11 Oct. 2026
Kolodin, an attorney who had lost a GOP primary for the state Senate that summer, was seen as something of a gadfly by some in the state GOP and hardly seen at all by others.

— Laura Meckler, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of attorney

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petticoat

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pettifoggers

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“Pettifogger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettifogger. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of pettifogger

noun

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