as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
from his perspective as a billionaire, what the governor got paid was a piffling amount
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piffling
Adjective
-
The source said the Heat were not willing to offload for nominal draft capital.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Feb. 2026 -
Today, his brother Raúl Castro is 94, and Cuba’ s nominal president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, is an obscure bureaucrat who has a hard time keeping his audiences awake.—
Andres Oppenheimer,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Yabusele started Monday and immediately racked up two blundering fouls in four minutes.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Our party walked single file to minimize the chance of blundering onto private property.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
On Friday, there was only a slight danger of avalanches in Slovakia's highest mountain range.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Sateen weave bedding also tends to have a slight sheen with a drapey design, and an opulent feel right out of the package, Brenot points out.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ken Holland, general manager, B Holland arrived on the scene of a muddling franchise that had lost four straight first-round series to the same opponent.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
7 Feb. 2026
-
The new estimate was based on accounting for some of those muddling data points.—
Andrew Joseph,
STAT,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But Putin was not going to launch a new war against Turkey’s rebel allies just to save a petty dictator whose own soldiers were deserting.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Ruling like a petty tyrant from the company’s headquarters in lower Manhattan, Coplan isn’t an easy boss to work with, according to new reporting by the Wall Street Journal.—
Joe Wilkins Published Feb 4,
Futurism,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Advertisement All eyes will be on Ilia Malinin, for the stunning array of quadruple jumps that the Virginia native pulls off with a mind boggling ease.—
Alice Park,
Time,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Jerry's approach is so mind boggling.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
30 Dec. 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
Verb
-
Hollywood stars would do well to worry less about bungling the teleprompter and more about being true to their heart.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The pair wasn’t done with its bungling yet.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
5 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Piffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffling. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
