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

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.

Recent Examples of petty But these spots are also where petty crime and travel scams tend to flourish due to the high population of tourists, explains Lloyd Figgins, travel safety expert and CEO of the Travel Risk & Incident Prevention (TRIP) Group. — Jillian Dara, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2026 His legal team couched the City Council’s move to weaken the mayor’s authority and strip him of privileges as a petty effort to unseat the youngest mayor in the city’s history, and one who has questioned their leadership. — Reed Williams, AJC.com, 29 July 2026 Funnily enough, Porsha knows this, which makes her actions in tonight’s episode even more petty. — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 27 July 2026 Hegseth has already challenged that premise in ways both meaningful and petty, by circumventing the normal promotion process to push out officers far below him or to stall their advancements, and by firing senior officers set for even higher rank. — Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for petty

Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty

Adjective

The merch was originally made for OpenAI employees to purchase on an internal site, but the team decided to make a small capsule collection available to the public.

— T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
Rival online retailers Ozon and Yandex Market use smaller depots spread over a wider network.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of small

Adjective

Several residents who spoke at the meetings characterized the opposition as a vocal minority of residents who have fixated on a few mostly parochial issues.

— John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 1 Aug. 2026
All but one, Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, were either parochial or had some religious affiliation.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 25 July 2026

Definition of parochial

Adjective

Nashville was a slight favorite at kickoff, but Miami fielded a stellar starting lineup that included Sergio Reguilón, Casemiro, Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suárez and Messi.

— Dean Jones, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
At the slightest security alert, every point along the route can be brought to a standstill.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of slight

Adjective

Enclosed by a network of 13th-century walls, the narrow streets of old York host myriad awe-inspiring relics from its pre-industrial past, perhaps the most famous being York Minster, one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals anywhere.

— Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026
The noun developed later for something removed or separated—hence a narrow strip of land, cloth, or material.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of narrow

Adjective

And once Anthropic tells the world how to identify these watermarks, building a system to remove them would be trivial.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026
Duration is a decent hedge against a labor market recession and a poor hedge against a stagflationary drift, and right now the odds of the second scenario are not trivial.

— Jason Kirsch, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of trivial

Adjective

The opening of an Auberge Collection property in the little town of Los Olivos is further proof of the area's status as a preeminent New World wine destination.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Aug. 2026
So far, none of those efforts has been successful, and opponents say hunting would do little to address the most problematic bears that tend to live closer to residential neighborhoods.

— John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of little

Adjective

In less trifling hands, there’s no telling what these tools could do, are doing now.

— CHRIS COLIN, Wired News, 18 May 2026
Meanwhile, that global temperature record that DiCaprio mentioned in his acceptance speech in 2016 seems almost trifling compared to what has happened since.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026