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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And that's what smoke alarms do.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
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Other possible causes include contact with hazardous substances such as smoke from oil well fires, pesticides, depleted uranium, and solvents or corrosive liquids used during equipment repair and maintenance.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Jerome said small changes—such as parking further away from your destination or taking the stairs instead of the elevator—also add up and count toward your overall daily activity.—
Cyra-Lea Drummond,
Verywell Health,
24 Oct. 2025
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But these seemingly small changes have made a different life for her.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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When a scientist sends an electric pulse through the electrodes, the neurons can respond with activity spikes, a biological equivalent of the binary ones and zeroes in digital computing.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
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Shook his head to say no, those zeroes were correct.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Social media is also full of ideas from people taking this oversized pie and turning it into any number of other desserts, from mini individual pies (with the use of a biscuit cutter) to layered trifles that are highly impressive and visually stunning.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
20 Oct. 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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Hansen Yang – hounded by over a dozen Chinese media members there to chronicle his every move – launched jumpers while Mandarin pop songs blared through the arena.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
26 Oct. 2025
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Instead of the traditional alternation of sung-text recitative and arias (songs), verismo operas are more seamless in how songs are interwoven with the story.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Picayunes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picayunes. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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