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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Farmhands in the distance are harvesting hay, not only to provide winter fodder for animals but also to destroy seedling trees and shrubs that might otherwise overgrow the area, while distant plumes of smoke suggest the possible burning of fields after harvest for the same reason.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Oct. 2025
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This model protects against allergens like pollen and pet dander, smoke, dust, and does it all from a place of covert, inoffensive design.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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None of these would be cheered as victories but small changes could really add up.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
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Narrowing the strike zone led to an increase in walks and only small changes in strikeout rates.—
Ronald Blum,
Twin Cities,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Browns tried to move up the field with seven seconds left in the game, but Jamari Thrash failed to get out of bounds on the final play and the clock trickled down to triple zeroes.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
5 Oct. 2025
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The Tigers got runners on base, had men in scoring position, then stranded them helplessly and collected zeroes on the scoreboard like seashells.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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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Why does one hard working fan have to buy seven different versions of an album instead of just having all of the songs be on one complete album?—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
5 Oct. 2025
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One of Lipa’s most significant attributes is the husky tone of her mezzo-soprano, lending a gritty roughness to her songs’ pop polish.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
5 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Picayunes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picayunes. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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