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

Relevance

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 The other was Albrecht Hohler, thirty, a Communist member of the paramilitary group the Red Front Fighters and well known locally as a particularly vicious thug—a petty criminal who had been released from jail only a few months earlier. — Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026 Here, the book loosens its grip on its wholesome view of the Westish clique, letting its characters do several ugly and petty and longed-for things—letting them, in other words, grow up. — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026 Newsom’s critics have long tried to paint the governor as lax on crime as concerns about homelessness and petty crime reached a fever pitch during the pandemic as videos of public smash-and-grabs in cities like San Francisco went viral. — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026 Blacks in the South were routinely imprisoned on petty or trumped-up charges, then leased out to landowners, mining companies, railroads and factories as unpaid labor. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for petty

Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty

Adjective

Murphy said doctors diagnosed him with a small hemorrhagic stroke, which is a bleed in the brain.

— Kevin Freking, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
This design improves control over unwanted current leakage as transistors become smaller.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of small

Adjective

While this milestone drew headlines, nominal dollar numbers are the wrong metric to focus on in connection with fiscal matters.

— Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2026
Deflation and weak corporate profitability are already eroding China’s fiscal revenues, which have basically been flat in nominal terms since 2019.

— Oliver Melton, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of nominal

Adjective

And yet, bizarrely, what seems like an entirely parochial story will surely have legs worldwide.

— Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026
The pair led an aggressive recruitment effort and injected parochial, populist policy proposals into its traditionally moderate platform.

— Spencer Kimball,Garrett Downs,Dan Mangan,Kevin Breuninger,Justin Papp, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of parochial

Adjective

Davis held a slight lead Wednesday, and the race between Murphy and Democratic challenger Raymond Smith was particularly close.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2026
The slight gap between the two candidates doesn’t bode well for Bass, since Raman is expected to secure a larger portion of the late-arriving ballots in the coming days.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of slight

Adjective

FinFET transistors FinFETs are transistors with narrow silicon channels shaped like upright fins rather than flat structures.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026
Instead of insisting on playing through pressure, defenders cleared the ball when necessary, stayed compact and protected a narrow lead.

— Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of narrow

Adjective

These sounds are strange bedfellows, but the delirium rarely feels indulgent or trivial.

— Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
Wiring the Teensy to the magnetic-imaging tile was trivial, only complicated by the fact that one side of the board has a silk-screen error that misidentifies the SPI connections (SparkFun says this will be fixed in future runs of the board).

— Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of trivial

Adjective

While sharing little in common with dueling-guitar acts such as the Allman Brothers Band or ’70s contemporaries the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, Television also drew its power from the preternatural rapport between Verlaine and Lloyd’s instruments.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026
The lines of control in the country changed little for years, and a truce was reached in 2022.

— AHMED HATEM, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026