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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piffling
Adjective
-
Treats and train rides are available for a nominal fee.—
Pomerado News,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2025 -
Presumably, the series can conclude when our nominal adults finally do get grown.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
Advertisement Even with such protections, the slightest communication advantage is worrying in the wrong hands, especially when deployed at a mass scale.—
Andrew Luttrell,
Time,
24 June 2025
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This was a shift from May, when Democrats had a slight advantage—48 percent planned to support Democrats, while 45 percent leaned toward Republicans, according to the pollster.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
The film is described as an intense drama about two Palestinian refugees living in Athens, caught between petty scams and the hope of a better life in Germany.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
21 June 2025
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In the end, what started as a petty doormat rivalry has turned into something much more joyful.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.—
Star Tribune,
Star Tribune,
3 Dec. 2020
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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
-
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
Adjective
-
Tech has a tiny presence on the Southeast Asia 500, generating just under 3% of the list’s total revenue.—
Lionel Lim,
Fortune,
22 June 2025
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Capture brain signals: The device's tiny electrodes pick up signals from individual neurons in the motor cortex.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Ideally, the load balancer should be a lightweight WAF itself to block trivial attacks early.—
Alexander Krizhanovsky,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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But Philadelphia needs a big upgrade, not a trivial one.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
But the transporting power of this festival—weirdly enhanced, even, by the not-inconsiderable hassle of navigating it—has always felt inextricable from the transporting power of its movies.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
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Writing in The Washington Post, Adam Taylor explains that although the British government usually collects a not-inconsiderable 40 percent on inheritances exceeding $380,000, Charles won’t pay a cent because he’s exempted.—
Timothy Noah,
The New Republic,
14 Sep. 2022
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Cite this Entry
“Piffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffling. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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