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. trivial
  7. little
  8. piddling
Adjective
  • Storms could be severe, with a level 2 out of 5; a slight risk is in place.
    — Laura Bannon, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • However, recent August polling shows Democrats are making ground on Republicans — still within the poll's margin of error — but with Talarico having a slight edge over Paxton.
    — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of slight
Adjective
  • Again and again, Bass went after Raman in the pettiest, most personal ways.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • But to build a web of accusations based on false premises and the manipulation of reality in order to attack the Biennale and a film invited to compete is a petty and unacceptable act.
    — John Bleasdale, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • One of my non-negotiable recommendations is Tonnara di Scopello, another historic tuna fishery turned into a tiny museum and protected cove.
    — Megan Rose Murray, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Forward-looking brands and retailers are drawing up blueprints for the next demographic frontier — the tiniest tots born between 2025 and 2039.
    — Faye Brookman, Footwear News, 21 Aug. 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
  • In less trifling hands, there’s no telling what these tools could do, are doing now.
    — CHRIS COLIN, Wired News, 18 May 2026
  • 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
Definition of trifling
Adjective
  • And once Anthropic tells the world how to identify these watermarks, building a system to remove them would be trivial.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Duration is a decent hedge against a labor market recession and a poor hedge against a stagflationary drift, and right now the odds of the second scenario are not trivial.
    — Jason Kirsch, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of trivial
Adjective
  • Those sea views will keep you company during your workout on the little gym platform overlooking the beach.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Increased regular season importance Arguably the biggest criticism of the current 18-team format is that there was too little reward for teams who demonstrated regular season excellence.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of little
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 23 Aug. 2026.

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