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
Yet everything remains the same for Delia, whose romantic fantasies have given way to an embrace of her roles as dutiful wife and loving mother despite the sneering condescension and outright physical abuse at the hands of her strutting petty tyrant husband Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea).
—
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 21 Jan. 2025
Organized theft is no petty crime; these are not one-off crimes of desperation or a mom lifting a can of formula to feed her baby.
—Cailey Locklair, Baltimore Sun, 27 Jan. 2025
In November 2023, Pryer filed a motion to terminate her remaining two years of probation based on a recent court ruling which held that a defendant convicted of a single petty offense may not be sentenced to both imprisonment and probation.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2025
Imagine a world where Superman is stopping a bank robbery, but every weapon is packed with Kryptonite ammunition and every petty criminal carries a Kryptonite shiv.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 20 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for petty 
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 21 Jan. 2025
Organized theft is no petty crime; these are not one-off crimes of desperation or a mom lifting a can of formula to feed her baby.
—Cailey Locklair, Baltimore Sun, 27 Jan. 2025
In November 2023, Pryer filed a motion to terminate her remaining two years of probation based on a recent court ruling which held that a defendant convicted of a single petty offense may not be sentenced to both imprisonment and probation.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2025
Imagine a world where Superman is stopping a bank robbery, but every weapon is packed with Kryptonite ammunition and every petty criminal carries a Kryptonite shiv.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 20 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for petty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty
Adjective
-
The gigs in smaller rooms than Simon has typically played, will allow the singer to perform the songs from Seven Psalms live for the first time.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
18 Feb. 2025
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Is what he’s done a small sample size thing or something more?—
James Mirtle,
The Athletic,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Cultural battles are waged over single-gender bathrooms, diversity quotas, and female sports leagues — all under the same nominal movement.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
12 Feb. 2025
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That term traditionally implies a nominal or even negligible sum of money, which this was not.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This may seem like an impossible task in a world where politics is becoming more divisive, foreign policy more parochial, and social media bubbles more impenetrable.—
Harvey Whitehouse,
WIRED,
23 Jan. 2025
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For more than a century, religious education had been deeply entrenched in the state; in Cleveland, the parochial system was one of the largest in the country.—
Alec MacGillis,
ProPublica,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The French fashion house pointed to a slight improvement in Asia Pacific and North America sales across its Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta brands, but did not provide details on specific markets.—
Karen Gilchrist,
CNBC,
11 Feb. 2025
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Last year, a pair of researchers claimed that the shockwaves of the shutdown could be felt as far as the moon, causing a slight dip in lunar surface temperatures.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Last night’s special had a comparatively narrow focus, prioritizing the characters and celebrities that many younger viewers would recognize.—
Esther Zuckerman,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2025
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The gap is quite narrow in some places, like Delaware and Maryland, but in places like Kentucky, systemic racial barriers continue to hold people back.—
Ben Berkowitz,
Axios,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In a few segments, like one in which toddlers enact a hardboiled film noir plot, the show’s low-stakes humor blends most successfully with its aspiration to tell some small but not trivial truths around things like being a parent, being a sibling, and growing up.—
Vulture Editors,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
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This is where seemingly trivial activities can make a big difference.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The after: alone in a quiet kitchen, rinsing out wine glasses and marveling over how little the whole thing cost me.—
Kendra Vaculin,
Bon Appétit,
11 Feb. 2025
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Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist By Liz Pelly The company brands itself as the ultimate curator, which is amusing considering that, for years after its 2006 founding, Spotify had little interest in playlists at all.—
Brad Shoup,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And yet the movie’s insularity feels trifling and empty.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Feb. 2024
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The cost to find these answers, even in the near term, is relatively trifling.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
30 Oct. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near petty
Cite this Entry
“Petty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petty. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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