pettifogging

adjective

Definition of pettifoggingnext
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
  1. slight
  2. petty
  3. tiny
  4. minute
  5. trifling
  6. little
  7. trivial
  8. piddling
Adjective
  • The two remained locked in a tight race as early voting nears with Talarico having a slight edge in most polls.
    — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The bodice of the top was a crisp white, while the sleeves were cast in vibrant yellow, a slight nod to the bold color trend for the season.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of slight
Adjective
  • Blacks in the South were routinely imprisoned on petty or trumped-up charges, then leased out to landowners, mining companies, railroads and factories as unpaid labor.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, out on the streets, young con artist Thomas Shepherd (Ruaridh Mollica) and pickpocket Lisa Molinari (Lauren Morais) are running petty scams.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • Commonly associated with environmental risk factors such as smoking or exposure to hazards like radon, the rare but aggressively fast-growing condition gets its name from the unusually tiny appearance of its cells.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026
  • These tiny architects of the deep sea actively regulate microbial populations.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of tiny
Adjective
  • Some people even enjoy minute quantities as a recreational drug.
    — Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2026
  • There are so many models out there from so many manufacturers, with minute differences between them.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 June 2026
Definition of minute
Adjective
  • Cut to terra ferma, where the almighty rainstorm soaking the streets of Rome seems a comparatively trifling bit of weather.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2026
  • In less trifling hands, there’s no telling what these tools could do, are doing now.
    — CHRIS COLIN, Wired News, 18 May 2026
Definition of trifling
Adjective
  • Depending on the machine and settings, that material ends up in a purge tower built alongside the print, or in a collection of little plastic doll's-house-looking spaghetti balls, affectionately known as printer poop.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That gives One Roof a significant advantage over competing Seattle bidders and little incentive to offer anything close to $10 billion.
    — Matt Calkins OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of little
Adjective
  • To non-historians, the difference of a few years might seem rather trivial.
    — Mike McRae October 15, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But in Season 4, the balance is off, and the fictional president’s parallels to our real-life war-starting, ally-betraying POTUS only make the former’s plight feel that much more trivial.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of trivial
Adjective
  • Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.
    — Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020
  • Millions of additional claims are expected to stream in from around the country over the coming weeks, while hiring remains piddling.
    — Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2020
Definition of piddling
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pettifoggers
pettifogging
pettiness
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Cite this Entry

“Pettifogging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettifogging. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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