1
as in small
not broad or open in views or opinions
a petty little town that was not ethnically diverse and very happy about the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
obsessed over even petty problems
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of petty
In 2021, on the heels of nationwide protests for racial justice, Colorado lawmakers enacted sweeping state-level reforms that significantly lowered the potential penalties for misdemeanor and petty offenses in Colorado’s state courts.
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Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
Most are snide and strident, petty and self-serving, and their bickersome denunciations turn monotonous in ways that suggest, at times, a less-than-generous deity in the director’s chair.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2025
Most of those singled out have faced petty charges, such as the accusations of mortgage fraud levied against James, Schiff, and the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.
—Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2025
In 2008, Tagawa pleaded guilty in a Honolulu court to a petty misdemeanor charge of harassing a girlfriend, who the police said had bruises on her legs at the time.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty
Adjective
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The founders argue that automation should be accessible to smaller operators, including neighborhood bars and private event spaces.—
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There can be 30 minutes of small waves before a sneaker wave strikes.—
Adjective
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Austin Public trains those producers, who, for a nominal fee, gain access to state-of-the-art equipment, studio space and content distribution for their own work.—
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Academic users will be able to access the platform for a nominal fee, while biotech and pharmaceutical companies are charged an annual subscription, which gives them the right to store their data securely, as well as a relatively low per-use charge.—
Adjective
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Working-class voters visiting a Reform clubhouse were more likely to find young professionals discussing weighty matters of foreign policy rather than parochial issues like street paving.—
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Looming over the desk is a giant cross made of yardsticks, those famous instruments of parochial-school torment, formed into a set of crosshairs.—
Adjective
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The ice punishes the slightest miscalculations, demands the sharpest of focus.—
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One report found there may be a slight benefit to moderate drinking, while the other concluded that even one drink a day was linked to a wide range of harms.—
Adjective
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During this time frame, a narrow, intense lake-effect snow band, only about 10 miles wide, will be capable of thunder, wind gusts near 35 mph and near-zero visibility at its peak.—
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The climb is infamous for its heart-pumping switchbacks and vertiginous jaunt along a narrow sliver of crag.—
Adjective
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There were 70,000 hospitalizations a year, which was not trivial, and virtually eliminating them was one of the major successes for vaccines in this country.—
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If that seems trivial, your at-home priorities may require review.—
Adjective
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Dick is sympathetic to Leroy’s perspective, noting that being Black in the military means having your personal life scrutinized, which is little comfort for Charlotte.—
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Sketches such as last night’s Oval Office monologue compact the coal of the administration’s info dumps into little diamonds of comedy, freeing the writers and cast to pursue more escapist fare.—
Adjective
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Talk of mounting nuclear readiness towards Russia, which has more atomic weapons than any other country in the world, could overshadow more trifling domestic matters, like the Epstein scandal, for instance.—
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Pixar has long stood out by bringing something less trifling to theatergoing families.—
Cite this Entry
“Petty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petty. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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