as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
raised one final, piddling objection to the plan
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Recent Examples of piddling
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
What’s particularly baffling is that Syria now produces a piddling amount of oil—about as much as Utah.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2019
That will make the current economic uncertainty look piddling.
—Daniel W. Drezner, Twin Cities, 15 Aug. 2019
In the battle for mind share, in the Trumpian quest to be part of every conversation, the Pixel far outweighs its piddling sales.
—Vlad Savov, The Verge, 16 Oct. 2018
Of those, only four rather piddling victories went the liberals’ way.
—The Economist, 30 June 2018
Learning about other runners' struggles and triumphs helps put my piddling run into a bigger narrative, often allowing me to see myself differently within another story.
—Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 21 June 2018
How to: Improve the Wi-Fi reception in your home
The most-improved was Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which went from a piddling 2.68 Mbps download speed in 2017 to 59.62 Mbps this year.
—Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle, 12 June 2018
Adjective
Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.
—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
What’s particularly baffling is that Syria now produces a piddling amount of oil—about as much as Utah.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2019
That will make the current economic uncertainty look piddling.
—Daniel W. Drezner, Twin Cities, 15 Aug. 2019
In the battle for mind share, in the Trumpian quest to be part of every conversation, the Pixel far outweighs its piddling sales.
—Vlad Savov, The Verge, 16 Oct. 2018
Of those, only four rather piddling victories went the liberals’ way.
—The Economist, 30 June 2018
Learning about other runners' struggles and triumphs helps put my piddling run into a bigger narrative, often allowing me to see myself differently within another story.
—Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 21 June 2018
How to: Improve the Wi-Fi reception in your home
The most-improved was Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which went from a piddling 2.68 Mbps download speed in 2017 to 59.62 Mbps this year.
—Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle, 12 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piddling
Adjective
-
Chris Lombardi, founder of Matador Records, recalls first pitching Perry’s idea to Stephen Malkmus, the band’s notoriously laconic chief songwriter, singer, guitarist and nominal leader.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
-
What’s more, most state parks have no admission fee while a few charge a nominal fee of a few dollars.—
Roger Sands,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
Adjective
-
However, at some point while walking the red carpet on Saturday, May 17, the two got mixed up in slight blunder when the Twilight star, 39, ended up standing on top of his costar's elegant Dior gown that, according to Vogue, took 250 hours to create.—
Michelle Lee,
People.com,
19 May 2025
-
Meanwhile, a DeepMind researcher discussed adversarial machine learning, a phenomenon where slight manipulations to input data can drastically alter an AI’s output.—
Korok Ray,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
These tiny crystals form in magma and absorb trace amounts of uranium, which decays over time into lead.—
Ella Jeffries,
Smithsonian Magazine,
16 May 2025
-
During the war, the U.S. military printed more than a million tiny paperback books for men to carry into battle, called Armed Services Editions.—
Martha Hall Kelly,
People.com,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Each encounter brings four options for how to beat that opponent, a prime opportunity to make petty jokes.—
Jayna Bardahl,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
-
As a result, defendants in Colorado’s municipal courts can face much longer sentences than those in state court for the same petty offenses, The Denver Post previously found.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Something as trivial as missing a meeting or forgetting to report a change of address becomes the reason they’re denied a fresh start.—
Robert Melvin,
Baltimore Sun,
7 May 2025
-
The loophole was called de minimis, which is Latin for something trivial and insignificant.—
Emily Feng,
NPR,
2 May 2025
Verb
-
James cuts back inside onto his right foot, fooling the defender, rather than going to the byline off his left foot.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Each plays a role in fooling their foe, who captures the turtle, while the deer, heeding the turtle’s good counsel, manages a sly escape.—
John Nemec,
The Conversation,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Frankly, the more trifling the crime, the better this franchise’s comedy aspirations would work.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
-
With that much water needed for even the most trifling tasks, the natural question becomes: How does that water reach those data centers, let alone the world’s farms and factories?—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 May 2010
Verb
-
These include avoiding idling in drive-thru lanes, carpooling, taking public transit or walking, and biking for short trips.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
-
What To Know To help reduce ozone formation, residents are encouraged to avoid idling in drive-thru lanes, and instead consider alternatives like sharing a ride or walking in.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piddling. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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