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
  • And while there are slight deviations between Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennial shopping habits, Gen Z appears to be changing the game altogether.
    — Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Made from 98-percent cotton and 2-percent spandex, these pants have a slight stretch to them along with functional front and back pockets.
    — Caroline Hughes, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of slight
Adjective
  • The other was Albrecht Hohler, thirty, a Communist member of the paramilitary group the Red Front Fighters and well known locally as a particularly vicious thug—a petty criminal who had been released from jail only a few months earlier.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Here, the book loosens its grip on its wholesome view of the Westish clique, letting its characters do several ugly and petty and longed-for things—letting them, in other words, grow up.
    — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • Researchers implant pairs of tiny magnets into a muscle and position external sensors over the skin.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
  • To stretch your legs, grab one of the resort’s bikes and take the half-hour ride on the narrow, largely traffic-free dirt road down to Punto Allen, a tiny fishing village with a picturesque lighthouse.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 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
  • Here's where the high diesel prices add up tough – what little hay there is, is a lot more expensive to harvest.
    — Anna King, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The prince didn’t have any luck in blocking Kelce, which comes as little surprise given the Chiefs star knows how to avoid defensive players.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 24 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 30 Oct. 2026.

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