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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of petty
The risk for the United States is high: The next few years could easily see American politics descend into cruel, petty vengefulness, or worse.
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Ivan Krastev, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2025
Shoplifters and petty thieves can also be put on probation for up to two years instead of one, and individuals under 25 can be referred to rehab programs.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 2 Jan. 2025
Spies have to deal with petty office politics like everyone else!
—Nina Metz, The Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2024
The fight in the restroom required a deft hand for how petty, casual frustrations can turn deadly.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petty 
Ivan Krastev, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2025
Shoplifters and petty thieves can also be put on probation for up to two years instead of one, and individuals under 25 can be referred to rehab programs.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 2 Jan. 2025
Spies have to deal with petty office politics like everyone else!
—Nina Metz, The Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2024
The fight in the restroom required a deft hand for how petty, casual frustrations can turn deadly.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petty
Adjective
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Billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos created Blue Origin back in 2000, but has to date only launched the smaller suborbital New Shepard rockets from its facilities in West Texas.RICHARD TRIBOU ORLANDO SENTINEL (TNS), arkansasonline.com, 13 Jan. 2025
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Reata at the Rodeo, a smaller but no less impressive version of the Southwestern steakhouse in downtown Fort Worth, will open at 11 a.m. Jan. 17 and will serve all day most days.Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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While some of the nominees fall far afield from the norms—Hegseth, Gabbard, and RFK Jr. are the marquee names in that cohort, for sure—the bulk will face only nominal opposition from Democrats.Philip Elliott, TIME, 8 Jan. 2025
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Of course, all the good deeds in the world can’t buy your way into heaven, but as a nominal Catholic, Biden may have been persuaded by the Pope to commute the sentences.Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But parochial political feuds and byzantine zoning codes have hampered LA’s efforts to get more new housing off the ground.Carly Stern, Vox, 6 Dec. 2024
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Given the court's significance in international law, this case could have more of an impact than COP on countries' behavior and corporate policies — and on future legal action, compared to past more parochial climate cases.Andrew Freedman, Axios, 3 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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California saw a slight decrease in unemployment from October to November 2024, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
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Confusingly, the Ryzen Z2 Go is a slight step down in performance.Jason Evangelho, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The narrow edge is expected to get even slimmer when two Republican members of congress join Trump’s cabinet.Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 13 Jan. 2025
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But there are big stumbling blocks, including the narrow window to reach a deal and the widely varied value of the app.Auzinea Bacon, CNN, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Any defection over the most trivial procedural or legislative matters could block the party's agenda.G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2025
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For investors, this means that meaningful financial updates from companies will be accompanied by mountains of trivial environmental data.Stone Washington, National Review, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The ensuing reply-all showed little sympathy for the ninety-five-year-old school and its community.Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2025
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The summer of 2020 did little to allay those fears: Inexperienced intelligence officers from the agency were deployed to Portland, Ore., to compile dossiers on people protesting against police violence.Eileen Sullivan, New York Times, 18 Jan. 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 Jan. 2025.
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