as in slight
old-fashioned
worrying too much about details that are minor or not important
pettifogging lawyers
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pettifogging
Adjective
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In 2024, roughly 48,800 Americans died by suicide, a slight decrease from the peak of nearly 49,500 deaths in this manner in 2022.
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Matching trousers stayed narrow through the hips before loosening down the leg into a slight flare.
Adjective
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The killing has drawn comparisons to other instances of other Black people who lost their life in cases of accusations of petty criminal offenses, such as the murder of George Floyd.
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Some were petty — like Reese committing a foul against Clark, then jerking her head back, impersonating Clark as a flopper.
Adjective
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Even tiny electromagnetic disturbances can disrupt the quantum states that perform calculations, reducing the accuracy and reliability of the system.
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What Uranus will look like Uranus should resemble a tiny greenish star and will appear only about 1/63 as bright as Mars.
Adjective
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There are so many models out there from so many manufacturers, with minute differences between them.
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Photos and videos of the interior reveal buccaneer style down to the most minute details, like octopus tentacle door handles.
Adjective
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In less trifling hands, there’s no telling what these tools could do, are doing now.
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Meanwhile, that global temperature record that DiCaprio mentioned in his acceptance speech in 2016 seems almost trifling compared to what has happened since.
Adjective
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These statements are not trivial.
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My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a trivial note.
Adjective
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Selena Gomez took the little black dress to a new level ahead of longtime friend Taylor Swift’s wedding.
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That little green or yellow can in the grocery store that boasts pictures of pears, cherries, grapes, and other fruit on the label?
Adjective
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Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.
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Millions of additional claims are expected to stream in from around the country over the coming weeks, while hiring remains piddling.
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“Pettifogging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettifogging. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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