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
-
The Tyumen refinery, one of the country's most modern and complex, has a nominal capacity of around 8 million metric tons per year.—
Ron Popeski,
USA Today,
20 June 2026 -
Self-park options are available for overnight guests for a nominal fee, and the hotel is dog-friendly (no additional fee).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
The consequences ranged from hobbling Reconstruction to hastening the end of the Ottoman Empire to poisonous deflation, and the blundering response by governments helped shape the modern world.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
6 June 2026
-
The broadest of comedies, the film’s often puerile humor is driven by an endless stream of male bungling, blundering and whining, only to be kicked up a notch by pratfalls of nearly every variety, from getting bucked off a galloping horse to tripping into a pile of trash.—
Natalia Winkelman,
Variety,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Emmys’ producers passing up on even the slightest possibility of a Werner Herzog acceptance speech is sheer lunacy.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
20 June 2026
-
The team has improved so much that its 1-1 draw against powerhouse Brazil was a slight disappointment.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
Drop in the cinnamon sticks and cloves, gently muddling once or twice to release their aroma.—
John Kell,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Instead, Defendants appear to be actively undermining the restoration of the Kennedy Center’s name, in a petty act of defiance.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
20 June 2026
-
The two deaths join a long list of other instances of Black Americans dying in interactions with police after accusations of petty criminal offenses.—
TRAVIS LOLLER,
Arkansas Online,
20 June 2026
Verb
-
The audience is relieved of the prior editions’ boggling tsunami wall of zombies.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
-
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
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
-
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who polled at 5% in the CBS survey, accused Becerra of bungling the federal government’s response to COVID-19, mpox and the influx in child migrants under former President Joe Biden.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
And Kash Patel's FBI seems to be bungling the investigation at every step.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Piffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffling. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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