picayunish

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for picayunish
Adjective
  • But only a fool would harp on picayune flaws when this rich material is being served with such musical polish and sensitivity.
    Charles Isherwood, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2022
  • Challenging ballot designations has become something of a sport in California politics — squabbles over the occasionally picayune rules return each cycle like the swallows to Capistrano.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2022
Adjective
  • After Princeton and military service, he was sent to the Paris bureau, where his scoops and reviews forced designers to alter their view of Women’s Wear Daily as unimportant.
    James Fallon, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Those tests that pick up most cancers tend to pick up other unimportant things as well — and those screening tests that are limited to discovering cancer often miss many people with the disease.
    Cory Franklin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.
    Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020
  • Millions of additional claims are expected to stream in from around the country over the coming weeks, while hiring remains piddling.
    Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2020
Adjective
  • Over the next 1,358 days, there would be just a handful of credible sightings of Phillips, mostly connected with petty crimes in nearby small towns.
    Todd Symons, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included.
    Aytekin Tank, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • His splendid defense never wavered, but Harris was statistically the worst lineup regular in the majors this season through the All-Star break, batting .210 with a puny .551 OPS in 93 games.
    David O'Brien, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Why won’t these punier equities go along with the program?
    John Navin, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • In Belly’s case, making the Paris decision—let alone the decision of which brother to be with—involves critical-thinking skills and a sense of self, neither of which is a trivial quality.
    Greta Rainbow, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
  • More nuanced public health messaging could follow, helping to avoid unnecessary fear over trivial exposures.
    Anna Broughel, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The current, nominal target for such a mission is 2027, but no reasonable observer believes that is possible.
    Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Though the nominal focus is Hind Rajab herself, Ben Hania’s film is a window on the world of Palestine’s Red Crescent volunteer service.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • However, according to the researchers, in reality, viscosity plays a negligible role in the sun’s interior.
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025
  • The Colts were a negligible 1 1/2-point home favorite.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Picayunish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picayunish. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!