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
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
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
-
Since 2020, public debt has surged by approximately 61%, outpacing nominal GDP growth of 38% through Q2 2025.—
Bob Haber,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Richard Kone, a goalscorer on the opening day of last season at the SToK Cae Ras in Wycombe Wanderers colours, may have been the nominal front man in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, but his link-up play and intelligent movement were matched by Harvey Vale, Koki Saito and Rumarn Burrell.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The night’s slight chill is perfect for a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon by an indoor fireplace or outdoor firepit.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Julie McNamara is back developing series for CBS Studios — with one slight difference.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
When the tiny home arrives, a semi-permanent setup is as easy as leveling the surface, hooking up utilities, and anchoring the home, if desired, which can be accomplished with the help of the builder’s team.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Every day is a new chance to accurately fix the coördinates of my appearance in clothes, to make tiny adjustments, as if focussing a lens.—
Rachel Kushner,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The newspaper reported at the time that Zinn has a criminal record dating back to 1989 that includes dozens of convictions for petty crimes such as criminal trespass, theft of services, interfering with a police officer and disturbing the peace.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The petty back-and-forth continued throughout the interview and escalated to the point that Dash threatened to get physical with CTG.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
16 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
-
That attention to detail — the belief that no detail is insignificant — is responsible for the career of the most famous man in football.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Sep. 2025
-
During the 1980s, mainframe engineers considered personal computers to be insignificant devices.—
Sadhasivam Mohanadas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 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
-
But those refunds were relatively paltry.—
Erin Doherty,
CNBC,
8 Sep. 2025
-
First monthly job losses in five years With the monthly revisions, standard operating procedure by the way, July’s paltry number of 22,000 jobs created was overshadowed by June’s new status as the first month since December 2020 showing a loss.—
Eli Amdur,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piddly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piddly. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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