as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
there's only a piddly difference in price between the two paintings, so take whichever you prefer
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Recent Examples of piddly
The piddly fines certainly aren’t a deterrent.
—
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
This stole the top spot from 1993, with its piddly 76 days over 100.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024
Online savings accounts have proliferated in recent years, offering higher yields than the piddly rates attached to ordinary savings accounts, which are less than 0.1%, on average.
—Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
Byrne is still a United States congressman and that’s no piddly thing.
—Kyle Whitmire, al, 7 Nov. 2019
This information isn't written in the controller's piddly instruction manual.
—Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 16 Nov. 2018
After Kilauea's 1924 summit explosions, the volcano entered a decade of piddly rumblings, followed by 18 years of silence.
—Sophia Yan and Malcolm Ritter, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 June 2018
But sometimes self-denial is its own form of power, as you are no doubt noticing, crammed into that piddly apartment.
—Helaine Olen, Slate Magazine, 25 Jan. 2017
Adding an additional 23,000 km is really a piddly amount.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 21 Sep. 2010
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
This stole the top spot from 1993, with its piddly 76 days over 100.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024
Online savings accounts have proliferated in recent years, offering higher yields than the piddly rates attached to ordinary savings accounts, which are less than 0.1%, on average.
—Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
Byrne is still a United States congressman and that’s no piddly thing.
—Kyle Whitmire, al, 7 Nov. 2019
This information isn't written in the controller's piddly instruction manual.
—Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 16 Nov. 2018
After Kilauea's 1924 summit explosions, the volcano entered a decade of piddly rumblings, followed by 18 years of silence.
—Sophia Yan and Malcolm Ritter, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 June 2018
But sometimes self-denial is its own form of power, as you are no doubt noticing, crammed into that piddly apartment.
—Helaine Olen, Slate Magazine, 25 Jan. 2017
Adding an additional 23,000 km is really a piddly amount.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 21 Sep. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piddly
Adjective
-
Not the org chart kind, which can be nominal, but the operational kind that survives a reorg.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
That means raising pay in real terms, not merely bestowing nominal bumps which can be wiped out by inflation.—
Randi Weingarten,
Time,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
The day before the fires ignited, the National Weather Service warned of extreme Valley heat, dry fuels, and a slight chance of thunderstorms.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
9 Dec. 2025
-
The fight to fill Miami’s mayor office comes to a head on Tuesday evening during a special runoff election as Democrat Eileen Higgins and Republican Emilio González are locked in a tight race, with the Democrat holding a slight lead in early voting.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
The whole episode is a reminder to product designers everywhere that users can be extremely sensitive to the seemingly smallest changes — and Spotify clearly had not anticipated that a teeny-tiny disco ball drop would prove to be unpopular.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
12 June 2026
-
Today, Siazon’s pickles can be found at the Sacramento Natural Food Co-op, the Davis Foods Co-op, Corti Brothers, the Kitchen Table locations, Allspicery in East Sacramento and tiny but mighty Superette Market in Land Park.—
Sean Timberlake,
Sacbee.com,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
Wembanyama mired his fundamental greatness by either trying too hard to dominate or exerting his physicality in a petty way.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
Others mention struggling main street shops, potholes and petty crime.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
People may think that park fees are an insignificant matter or find this move merely petty; however, history dictates that actions such as this are key when the objective is to disenfranchise a particular group.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Dec. 2025
-
Still, these impacts are generally insignificant and likely specific to the individual and the amount being consumed.—
Lauren Panoff,
Verywell Health,
3 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
That should represent a non-trivial upgrade from Verizon’s cheapest current unlimited-data subscription, the Unlimited Welcome option introduced in August 2023.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
16 June 2026
-
On Monday in Inglewood, the history was much more fraught, and not at all trivial.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
In a harsh world, this would cleave away Spain, whose leader Rodri has a relatively paltry 61 caps.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
7 June 2026
-
But the frequency with which these scams are occurring — spurred by the ease of making and disseminating AI music — suggests scammers aren’t exactly deterred by paltry royalty payouts.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Piddly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piddly. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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