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
Relevance
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 petty
Stoptime's vocalist Loginova received a 13-day sentence for petty hooliganism on Wednesday.
—
Reuters, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2025
Chrishell was being needlessly petty.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Any petty rivalries were put aside, and in the true sense of the actor’s code, offers came to help each other read over the piece.
—Jay Glennie, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2025
Filmmaking is blind instinct, petty calculations, smooth generalship, daydreaming, pig-headedness, grace, bluff, risk.
—Susan Sontag, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petty
Reuters, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2025
Chrishell was being needlessly petty.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Any petty rivalries were put aside, and in the true sense of the actor’s code, offers came to help each other read over the piece.
—Jay Glennie, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2025
Filmmaking is blind instinct, petty calculations, smooth generalship, daydreaming, pig-headedness, grace, bluff, risk.
—Susan Sontag, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty
Adjective
-
Palantir’s revenue figures are still quite small compared to peers of similar market capitalization.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Contractors working on the project recently completed pouring the foundation for what will provide smaller housing units meant to make quarantining detainees with communicable illnesses safer and easier.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
In addition to the music, train rides will be offered around the park for a nominal fee courtesy of the Poway-Midland Railroad.—
Elizabeth Marie Himchak,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Kim Yong Nam was not related to Kim Jong Un, but his loyalty to the ruling family enabled him to serve as president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly—the country's nominal head of state—from 1998 until April 2019.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The move likely seeks to rein in parochial infighting between military branches, which compete for congressional funding every year despite Hegseth and the White House officially controlling the process.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The disagreement is colored by Maine’s parochial politics.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Nobody who has even a slight awareness of how the organization does business expected the Ravens to trade multiple Day 1/2 draft picks for a player.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Boston has the opportunity to shell out a qualifying offer for the veteran hurler, which would be a slight raise worth roughly $22 million.—
Shaun McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
One was needed with a narrow temperature range; in Helm’s case, inglorious British maritime.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Its cities have narrow and twisting streets.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Her frustration only grew when M woke up and started yelling about something trivial.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Maybe autocracy starts with something as trivial as this.—
John M. Crisp,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Wet and dry fronts, prevailing winds, moisture and vapour, meeting, as luck would have it, exactly at the top of that big mountain on the little island.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
But the shutdown has turned most parks into ghost towns, with little to no staffing or access to amenities and facilities.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
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 6 Nov. 2025.
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