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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In the bar, besides those coming and going, there were also two people sitting at a table: a toothless man, who sipped a small beer while rolling a cigarette with the leisurely pace of someone who had nothing else to do that day, and a very fat woman with purple streaks in her hair.—
Óscar Martínez,
The Dial,
30 Apr. 2026 -
Compared to those turbulent days, the second biggest defeat of Parkinson's reign is very small beer.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Black plumes of smoke clouded the skies as thousands of participants arrived in the city.—
Zahra Ullah,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
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Thick columns of smoke hung in the air on Wednesday morning as delegates arrived to pick up their badges.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
Noun
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Because writing draws on so many complex mental functions, researchers believe that small changes in how people write could provide early warning signs for cognitive impairment.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
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But small changes in physical spaces, such as lighting, floor markings or shelves, could dramatically improve performance.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
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That’s someone who has assets valued at $1,000,000,000,000 or more, to view it in terms of zeroes.—
Yasmin Vossoughian,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
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Sarah Faust corralled a pass in transition, then fired a missile into the twine as the clock hit triple zeroes to give Medfield a 7-6 advantage at intermission.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
2 June 2026
Noun
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But in the past year, the scope of insider trading has grown to unprecedented levels thanks to new platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket that offer bets on everything from major world events to celebrity trifles.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
2 Apr. 2026
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Treaties were trifles compared to armies and bullets.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The show is still using some of those songs, giving the score’s relationship to the script a half-in, half-out near-jukebox feeling.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
5 June 2026
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Maya, like Bassichis, did an act that was a bit standup, a bit performance art, broken up by dreamy, oddball songs.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Picayunes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picayunes. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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