as in small beer
something of little importance
our lives don't amount to a picayune in the great scheme of things
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picayunes
Noun
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Of course, a pipeline is small beer compared to the world’s largest island, Greenland, laden with energy resources and rare earths.—
Llewellyn King,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025 -
No one has ever rushed to the theatre for the sake of Hero and Claudio, the secondary lovers, whose wooings and sunderings, though eventful, seem like very small beer compared with the rich flirtatious spirits of the primary pair.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Cigarette smoke hangs in the air.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
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For the architect, the fire prompted an existential crisis, an exercise in soul searching and an exploration, amidst the psychologically lingering smoke and ash, of what was essentially called for, architecturally, in the region.—
Richard Olsen,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There is now also enough evidence to move the conversation away from all-or-nothing fitness goals and toward small changes that are far more likely to stick.—
William A. Haseltine,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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The new year could bring small changes and new opportunities to relocate.—
Chierstin Roth,
CBS News,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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According to the latest bound, proved in 2004 by Imre Ruzsa of the Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics in Hungary, a sum of 1020 cosines — that’s a 1 with 20 zeros after it, about the number of molecules in a cubic inch of air — must have a minimum value smaller than about −7.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
28 Jan. 2026
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The Ducks dominated the first period by every measure except the score, with zeros remaining on the board as the teams headed to their respective dressing rooms.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Sky-high trifles, rich and creamy puddings, homemade candy– the holidays are a great time for decadent desserts.—
Krissy Tiglias,
Southern Living,
13 Nov. 2025
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Elegant trifles that prove a baking fail doesn’t mean failure at all.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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So many songs, poems, novels, films, and gags.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Some K-pop songs, just in their surface-level presentation, put their cross-cultural assimilations up front.—
Sheldon Pearce,
NPR,
29 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Picayunes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picayunes. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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