as in slight
old-fashioned
worrying too much about details that are minor or not important
pettifogging lawyers
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pettifogging
Adjective
-
Most predictor sites and betting services show Knueppel with a slight lead, but with Flagg fast surging since his March 5 return from a left midfoot sprain.—
Brad Townsend,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Mar. 2026 -
The key is to consciously combine the shades of green, either within a color family for a calm, elevated look or with slight contrasts to create tension.—
Jana Ackermann,
Glamour,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Kansas’ public officials should avoid the distractions of petty prejudices and focus on representing all their citizens.—
Darren Rosenblum,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Joe Cole, late of Peaky Blinders, plays Ethan, a former petty teen gangster from Las Vegas who has decamped to Los Angeles and made an honest man of himself.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The plot pivots on tiny gestures involving matters of life and death.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Each impact steals a tiny bit of the spacecraft’s speed, pushing it a smidgen closer to Earth.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In cold-atom environments, where disturbances are minimized, even minute frequency shifts could become detectable.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The research, which will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session later this month, relied on minute-level heart rate data from nearly 15,000 adults.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, that global temperature record that DiCaprio mentioned in his acceptance speech in 2016 seems almost trifling compared to what has happened since.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The health factor is no trifling qualifier for a player who has missed time with shoulder and oblique injuries, in addition to that unfortunate incident with his pelvic floor.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
For Ingalls, that was a trivial request.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2026
-
None of this is trivial, and anyone who tells you otherwise is not being straight with you.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Residents in the San Gabriel Valley are contending with a dramatic surge in black flies, a painful little pest known for biting around the eyes and necks of people and pets.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Plus, little baby leaves are thinner.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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
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.
Cite this Entry
“Pettifogging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettifogging. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
