as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
raised one final, piddling objection to the plan
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Recent Examples of piddling
Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020
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
What’s particularly baffling is that Syria now produces a piddling amount of oil—about as much as Utah.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2019
That will make the current economic uncertainty look piddling.
—Daniel W. Drezner, Twin Cities, 15 Aug. 2019
In the battle for mind share, in the Trumpian quest to be part of every conversation, the Pixel far outweighs its piddling sales.
—Vlad Savov, The Verge, 16 Oct. 2018
Of those, only four rather piddling victories went the liberals’ way.
—The Economist, 30 June 2018
Learning about other runners' struggles and triumphs helps put my piddling run into a bigger narrative, often allowing me to see myself differently within another story.
—Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 21 June 2018
How to: Improve the Wi-Fi reception in your home
The most-improved was Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which went from a piddling 2.68 Mbps download speed in 2017 to 59.62 Mbps this year.
—Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle, 12 June 2018
Adjective
Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.
—Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020
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
What’s particularly baffling is that Syria now produces a piddling amount of oil—about as much as Utah.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2019
That will make the current economic uncertainty look piddling.
—Daniel W. Drezner, Twin Cities, 15 Aug. 2019
In the battle for mind share, in the Trumpian quest to be part of every conversation, the Pixel far outweighs its piddling sales.
—Vlad Savov, The Verge, 16 Oct. 2018
Of those, only four rather piddling victories went the liberals’ way.
—The Economist, 30 June 2018
Learning about other runners' struggles and triumphs helps put my piddling run into a bigger narrative, often allowing me to see myself differently within another story.
—Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 21 June 2018
How to: Improve the Wi-Fi reception in your home
The most-improved was Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which went from a piddling 2.68 Mbps download speed in 2017 to 59.62 Mbps this year.
—Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle, 12 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piddling
Adjective
-
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
-
That term traditionally implies a nominal or even negligible sum of money, which this was not.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
Awaiting them is a tiny flag, a certificate of naturalization, and a hearty handshake from Tom Farrish, the great grandson of an immigrant from Ukraine.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
9 Feb. 2025
-
The gals at Always Booked put together the most fantastic event down to the tiniest detail.—
American Booksellers Association,
USA TODAY,
9 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
What does revoking Biden's security clearance accomplish other than satisfy a petty grievance of a childish man?—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
8 Feb. 2025
-
The purview of his catalogue narrowed, focusing on refining a reputation as a petty king in rap and in relationships.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
This is where seemingly trivial activities can make a big difference.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Liverpool are regularly seeing apps that replicate the appearance of genuine tickets — fooling not just first-time visitors to Anfield.—
James Pearce,
The Athletic,
2 Jan. 2025
-
The ultimate aim is, with the use of multiple layers of such transformations, fooling malware classifiers into thinking malicious code is, in fact, totally benign.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes,
24 Dec. 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
Verb
-
The loud ticking sound when my car is idling.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Dec. 2024
-
My heartbeat pounded in my ears, drowning out the anticipatory purr of two ambulance engines idling nearby.—
Daphne Ewing-Chow,
Forbes,
23 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near piddling
Cite this Entry
“Piddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piddling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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