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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
obsessed over even petty problems
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of petty
The scale of that tragedy may be what makes Harris’s complaints seem so petty, however well founded many of them may be, and her deflection of responsibility so grating.
—
Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
But for his wife, the damage is deeper than a petty argument over a pet.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025
Throughout the summer, Joanne leads her lovable, chaotic crew through a season of strikeouts, petty rivalries, conservative-politician sponsors, and sexy carwash fundraisers gone wrong.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
In their recommendation, Warner and Kaine said Nachmanoff supervised a team that represented more than 2,500 clients accused of federal violations ranging from petty offenses to capital murder.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petty
Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
But for his wife, the damage is deeper than a petty argument over a pet.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025
Throughout the summer, Joanne leads her lovable, chaotic crew through a season of strikeouts, petty rivalries, conservative-politician sponsors, and sexy carwash fundraisers gone wrong.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
In their recommendation, Warner and Kaine said Nachmanoff supervised a team that represented more than 2,500 clients accused of federal violations ranging from petty offenses to capital murder.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty
Adjective
-
Designed for portability and performance The DGX Spark is small enough to fit in a backpack yet powerful enough to run modern AI reasoning models.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
-
The lasagna gets topped with a layer of small, early spring bulbs like crocuses.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Drake sought nominal, compensatory, and punitive damages, plus legal fees.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
-
However, at least 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in debt distress or at high risk of distress, the World Bank’s recent assessment noted, with public debt in nominal terms and as a share of GDP nearly doubling over the last decade.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Aquila served as a parochial vicar in two parishes from 1976 to 1982 and then as pastor at Denver’s Guardian Angels Parish from 1982 to 1987.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
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Or if that is not parochial enough, there are some decent Carabao Cup ties on Tuesday, with Manchester United’s conquerors Grimsby Town going to Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace hosting Millwall, a replay of last season’s bruising FA Cup clash.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Patrick addressed the tension between his team and the Lions after the game, taking a slight jab at the way Detroit behaves on the field.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
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In more recent trading, there was a slight recovery that brought values back over 65 cents.—
SJ Guest Editorial,
Sourcing Journal,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Colorado State is currently mired in a three-game losing streak, following a narrow 21-17 win over Northern Colorado.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Oct. 2025
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Whatever the catalyst, a change in the political environment seemed to connect with a social change that brought back narrow, and at times constrictive, ideas of womanhood depicted in media.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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What looked trivial was, in fact, the system at work.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
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Eckert’s ultimate victory in securing regulatory approval for Addyi underpins the documentary’s revelations about gender bias at the FDA as a drug that claimed to improve female pleasure was dismissed as trivial or even dangerous.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, Bad Bunny has commented little, save for an SNL monologue poking fun at the situation.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
12 Oct. 2025
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After Texas produced little in the run game at Florida, Wisner proved elusive, dodging and breaking tackles to produce chunk plays and keep Texas moving down the field.—
Sam Khan Jr,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Talk of mounting nuclear readiness towards Russia, which has more atomic weapons than any other country in the world, could overshadow more trifling domestic matters, like the Epstein scandal, for instance.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
2 Aug. 2025
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Pixar has long stood out by bringing something less trifling to theatergoing families.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
15 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Petty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petty. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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