as in negligibility
the quality or state of being unimportant
the astonishing pettiness of most of the things that she fusses over
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in small
not broad or open in views or opinions
a petty little town that was not ethnically diverse and very happy about the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
obsessed over even petty problems
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pettiness
Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 9 May 2025
Don't be that person who causes unnecessary family drama over what amounts to petty jealousy.
—Erin Clack, People.com, 9 May 2025
Our characters deeply love each other, and the conflict between them is about noble issues, not petty drama.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 8 May 2025
The trio seems to have little in common, and the willful misunderstanding and petty tone-policing by Serge and Marc are relentless.
—Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pettiness
Adjective
The writer and this young woman who is both a petty criminal and a political activist.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 9 May 2025
Don't be that person who causes unnecessary family drama over what amounts to petty jealousy.
—Erin Clack, People.com, 9 May 2025
Our characters deeply love each other, and the conflict between them is about noble issues, not petty drama.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 8 May 2025
The trio seems to have little in common, and the willful misunderstanding and petty tone-policing by Serge and Marc are relentless.
—Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pettiness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pettiness
Adjective
-
To meet rising demand, companies sprang up and began churning out rides – smaller versions for traveling carnivals and larger ones for town squares and amusement parks.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
26 May 2025
-
Ellie finds a small fishing boat to take her across the water to the aquarium.—
Samantha Stutsman,
People.com,
26 May 2025
Adjective
-
Here’s why: Although technical specifications are still being worked out, the new standard could deliver nominal peak data rates of more than 40Gbps.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
20 May 2025
-
The main question of contemporary cinema isn’t (pace the nominal avant-garde) whether to tell a story but what story to tell, how to tell it, and, for that matter, what a story is.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
It could not be fenced off and become a parochial one now.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
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Investors might want to be less parochial just as political policy becomes increasingly so.—
Ron Insana,
CNBC,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, a DeepMind researcher discussed adversarial machine learning, a phenomenon where slight manipulations to input data can drastically alter an AI’s output.—
Korok Ray,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
-
However, at some point while walking the red carpet on Saturday, May 17, the two got mixed up in slight blunder when the Twilight star, 39, ended up standing on top of his costar's elegant Dior gown that, according to Vogue, took 250 hours to create.—
Michelle Lee,
People.com,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
On Friday, Arteta insisted the Everton game would not fade into insignificance, but a weakened Arsenal team left Merseyside after a 1-1 draw knowing that Liverpool need a maximum of 11 points from their final eight games to become champions.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
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Another message from Bondi also got under Murphy's skin — not because of its importance, but its insignificance.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The Horned Frogs gave up two late runs in a narrow 2-1 loss to Arizona in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday night at Globe Life Field.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 May 2025
-
The Formula 1 season moves to its most iconic venue this weekend, with the eighth round of the championship taking place around the narrow streets of Monaco.—
Dan Cancian,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
Harnessing The Power Of Data For AI The data in your organization’s repositories, even the data that seems trivial, like emails or archived contracts, has inherent value to your business.—
Jesse Todd,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
-
Matt steps outside his Hollywood bubble and realizes how small and trivial his problems are.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Yesterday’s pangrams were triviality, trivially and virality.—
Alex Travelli,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
-
Never issue false assurances, but don’t dwell on trivialities either.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pettiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettiness. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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