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petty

/ˈpɛt.i/noun, adjective2 syllables

Petty means: (informal) small and of little importance.

Synonyms for petty36

noun, as in larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)

petit larceny, petty larceny

adjective, as in (informal) small and of little importance

fiddling, footling, lilliputian, little, niggling, piddling, piffling, picayune, trivial, unimportant

adjective, as in inferior in rank or status

junior-grade, lower-ranking, lowly, secondary, subaltern, junior

adjective, as in contemptibly narrow in outlook

small-minded, narrow-minded, narrow

also used for petty

base, contemptible, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle, ignorable, immaterial, grudgeful, grudging, avengeful, pluckcrow, revengeful

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does petty mean?4

adjective

1

(informal) small and of little importance“a fiddling sum of money”

2

inferior in rank or status“a lowly corporal”

3

contemptibly narrow in outlook“petty little comments”

noun

1

larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with petty?7

two syllables

sweatypetitjettyyeti

three syllables

spaghettimacheteconfetti
Show 40 near rhymes
anyverymanyalreadyreadyespeciallymarriedheavydirectlyhealthymaryhenryharryplentyentrytwentyfriendlyassemblyemptywednesdaysemifairlybarelykellyrarelysexyburiedmarrygaryscaryelementarysteadydelhijerryvaryterryperrycorrectlywealthycherry

Petty in a sentence

  • The departmental heads, lost in petty argument, could not reach a cohesive decision.papabear
  • Petty thieves are hanged, the great ones go free.carlosalberto
  • I have a very small tolerance for petty things and for petty behavior.Ooneykcall
  • It's saddening to see friends drift apart over petty disagreements.LoverofEnglish
  • I'm sick and tired of all the petty squabbling among politicians.darinmex
  • From now on many petty men will not be able to be cowards anymore.unknown
  • We shouldn't be imprisoning people for such petty crimes.ferra
  • He stole petty cash from the office in the shoe store.Eccles17

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of petty

as a noun

plural
petties

as a adjective

comparative
pettier
superlative
pettiest