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 slight worry is that Zheng will run out of gas at some point after coming through the qualifying tournament and winning six matches in New York.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • For all their advantages, quantum technologies are extremely sensitive, and these devices can be thrown out of gear by the slightest changes in temperature or environmental noise.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of slight
Adjective
  • Mehring’s characters include petty criminals, unscrupulous lawyers, Galician Jews, Freikorps heavies, local and international businessmen, Prussian generals, and the everyday citizens inhabiting the streets of Berlin’s old and rather dingy center.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Some fans and analysts pointed out that the news release looked petty.
    — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • Atoms under a chip The QGI is rather tiny and relies on microwave and magnetic pulses.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The singer-songwriter, who is currently on tour, mainly resides at a rural compound just outside of Framlingham, the tiny historic town where he was raised.
    — Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 11 Sep. 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
  • That’s right — after three straight Friday-night deadlines, Gameweek Four gets under way at 3pm on Saturday, handing you that little bit of extra time to agonise over the right moves for the next round of action.
    — Ben Dinnery, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Jongmin Lee, a quantum sensing scientist at SNL, has been working to build an extremely small version of this device, one that consumes very little power and can be used in the field.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of little
Adjective
  • Most of these alterations are trivial, although one major change, coming near the end, is a very bad idea.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • If Vance were to renounce Carlson over a matter as trivial as, say, Carlson’s oddly positive assessment of Adolf Hitler, what hope is there for society?
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 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 13 Sep. 2026.

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