as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
the assistant's job was to shield the president from such footling problems
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dawdling
to spend time doing nothing
spent the morning footling about while others were working
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of footling
Barton Swaim, WSJ, 21 June 2019
Adjective
By comparison with previous Establishment Clause cases, however, this lawsuit looked footling and rather mean.
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 21 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for footling
Adjective
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The result of the shift could be a real deal of the century: an abatement of the multipronged conflicts raging in the Middle East, a political horizon and reconstruction for the Palestinians and the Lebanese, and some nominal concessions from Tehran on its nuclear program and regional malfeasance.Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
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Assad retained nominal control of much of the country with Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah assistance.Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Marcello Hernández turns in an excellent performance as Soto, but overall, there is a slight disjointedness to this cold open, even while resurrecting an iconic character.Rosa Escandon, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
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Although the slippers looked nearly identical, a consultant for the Smithsonian analyzed slight differences in the pairs and determined that the ones that were sold on Saturday were in many of the most famous scenes of the movie.Hank Sanders, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020
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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
Adjective
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My understanding has always been that the relic trade is loosely tolerated by the powers that be (many of whom have some pretty choice relics of their own), because one of the sneakiest ways authoritarian societies thrive is by letting their subjects get away with petty rebellions.Noel Murray, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024
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As our profile lays out, the record reveals Billy Wagner as a blustery, bigger-than-life figure who engaged in petty crime and coached his family to do the same.Patricia Gallagher Newberry, The Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2024
Verb
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An idling car uses only one gallon of gas per hour.John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Dec. 2024
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Thick swarms of black flies hummed and knocked against the windows of an idling car, while crows and vultures waited nearby — eyeballing the taut and bloated carcasses roasting in the October heat.Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2024
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
Verb
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The Gym People leggings feature thick, stretchy fabric that’s great for workouts, lounging, or running errands.Jacquelyn Smith, Parents, 10 Dec. 2024
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Bows and ostrich feather cuffs on your heavenly soft pajamas makes precious downtime of lazy mornings and late-night lounging delightfully decadent.Adam Mansuroglu, WWD, 8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The rock, ringed with black and marked by distinctive white veins and dozens of tiny bright spots, was discovered as Perseverance explored a quarter-mile-wide valley called Neretva Vallis.Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
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In this apartment remodel, Project AZ knocked down a wall that once created a very tiny kitchen.Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 17 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near footling
Cite this Entry
“Footling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/footling. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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