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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
obsessed over even petty problems
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of petty in a Sentence
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web
Foolish, vain, and petty Jasmine may be, but Blanchett managed to make her slow-motion downfall oddly emotional.
—
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2024
The Greek gods are famous for their uncontrollable lust, and amusingly petty, vindictive punishments inflicted on those unfortunate enough to insult them.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
The charges—assault, classified as a petty misdemeanor, and interference with communication, a misdemeanor—will be dismissed provided that Jones completes the anger management classes and adheres to the law over the next 90 days.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
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).
—Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petty 
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2024
The Greek gods are famous for their uncontrollable lust, and amusingly petty, vindictive punishments inflicted on those unfortunate enough to insult them.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
The charges—assault, classified as a petty misdemeanor, and interference with communication, a misdemeanor—will be dismissed provided that Jones completes the anger management classes and adheres to the law over the next 90 days.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
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).
—Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty
Adjective
-
Researchers trained rats to jog on a treadmill To scientifically measure that observation, researchers captured two dozen vampire bats from Belize and trained them to use a small treadmill typically used to measure the metabolic rates of rats.Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
-
His priorities include veterans’ rights, advocating for small businesses, protecting the border and education, according to his campaign website. AD-64 includes a portion of Los Angeles County and La Habra in Orange County.Hanna Kang, Orange County Register, 7 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
However, this collection of articles covers the vulgar and hypocritical parade of politics during the Roaring ’20s, when Prohibition was the nominal law of the land.Ben Jacobs, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024
-
Located in a state that's deep blue on the presidential level, this suburb was represented for a long time in Congress by senior Democrats like Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey, both of whom coasted to reelection with nominal opposition in older versions of this district.Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
How can a place be at once so cosmopolitan and so parochial?Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
-
Uniforms were only associated with parochial and private schools until the late 1980s, but public schools began piloting them as well, allowing plaid’s influence in American classrooms to spread.Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 5 Sep. 2024
Adjective
-
Each stop gradually peels back some slight emotional layers of its somewhat inscrutable main pairing.Kambole Campbell, IndieWire, 2 Nov. 2024
-
Even the slightest outperformance by Trump across the battlegrounds would see him back in the White House with comparative ease.Niall Stanage, The Hill, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris remain locked in an extraordinarily narrow fight for the presidency after each candidate spent the final hours of their campaigns trying to win over voters in key swing states.Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
-
In 2020, her poll showed Trump with a large lead in Iowa while others expected a narrow race or even a Biden win.Linh Ta, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Still, in the face of such reality, making music, painting and making a movie can seem trivial.Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Nov. 2024
-
And frankly, this reason seems trivial compared to Brock Purdy’s three interceptions, the Niners’ defense’s failure to stop Patrick Mahomes on third down, and the lopsided mismatches that Kansas City boasted on both lines of scrimmage.Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
But the costumes appeared to do little to assuage the tension some employees felt following the earnings call, which alluded to impending cost cuts.Alena Botros, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2024
-
But federal policy is just one of many things that sway output, which has little historical relationship to the party in power (see above).Ben Geman, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
And yet the movie’s insularity feels trifling and empty.David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2024
-
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 16 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share