PETTY Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

petty

adjective

ˈpe-tē

Definition of petty

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

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 petty But armed officers dressed in camouflage alongside military vehicles have apparently not acted as enough of a deterrent to petty criminals. — Antonia Mortensen, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026 The jury found both Morrow and Stanley guilty of petty misdemeanor charges of obstructing federal property, disrupting government officials’ duties and failing to comply with officials’ orders. — Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026 Javier Bardem‘s supercriminal is a creature of myth, complete with an untraceable accent, beyond pain or petty notions of morality. — Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026 Trump will depart sooner or later, the banners will be torn down and much of his petty talk will be and should be forgotten. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for petty

Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty

Adjective

Then handle the smaller responsibilities competing for your attention.

— Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
Its compact permanent magnet motor enables a smaller pod diameter, reducing hydrodynamic drag while maintaining high propulsion performance.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of small

Adjective

For a nominal sum, the paper each day serves up authoritative accounts of sports events that occurred as much as a day earlier, give or take.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
The calculation refers to nominal total returns, combining coupon income and changes in the bond's market price.

— Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of nominal

Adjective

Among the bureaucratic, parochial, pastoral and familial spaces his work takes his clients, a reflection on roots, gentrification and the act of remaining emerges.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
In some cases, opposition might amount to parochial not in my backyard — or NIMBY — concerns.

— Stefan Chavez-Norgaard, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of parochial

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

Louisville and Boise State don’t move much after narrow losses to top-10 teams.

— Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
The extremely short, picometer-scale wavelength of nuclear-decay neutrinos makes the possible collective emission cone extraordinarily narrow.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of narrow

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

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