as in slight
old-fashioned
worrying too much about details that are minor or not important
pettifogging lawyers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pettifogging
Adjective
-
Freud’s notion of remembering, the inexact reiteration of what came before, is where creativity emerges—that slight drift from the original that lets something unlikely slip in.—
Namwali Serpell,
The New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2025 -
Sugarcane honey is a concentrated form of sugarcane juice that has a slight licorice taste and a touch of bitterness.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But being able to distinguish when things are challenging versus straight-up unhealthy can keep you from spiraling into petty drama and sneaky backstabbing.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
3 Mar. 2025
-
On the page, Serafina is an archetypical Williams heroine — a woman who feels the world too deeply and is therefore brutalized by its harsh truths and petty cruelties (e.g. Maggie the Cat, Blanche DuBois, Amanda Wingfield).—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
For those who need fast storage on the go, the Samsung Portable T7 SSD is tiny, secure, and now 25% off!—
Shubham Yewale,
PCMAG,
5 Mar. 2025
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The indie retailer is partnering up with Mattel to debut a limited-edition line of clothing and accessories inspired by the tiny doll.—
Hannah Malach,
WWD,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In the demo, robots checked pucks for minute scratches, many of which were difficult to spot with the naked eye.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
26 Feb. 2019
-
Moreover, the judges noted, forbidding the use of chemicals that carry a minute risk of cancer might prompt manufacturers to use compounds that are more toxic, albeit in noncancerous ways.—
Karen Kaplan,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
With that much water needed for even the most trifling tasks, the natural question becomes: How does that water reach those data centers, let alone the world’s farms and factories?—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 May 2010
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And yet the movie’s insularity feels trifling and empty.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
Given this, there is no straightforward way to understand what a model is doing on an intuitive level, as from our perspective running inference on a model is nothing more than executing trillions of trivial operations such as addition and multiplication.—
Rahul Gudise,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
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And figuring out that amount was not a trivial task.—
Jayson Stewart,
IEEE Spectrum,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In many cases, these communities had gotten little federal attention for generations, Ortiz said.—
Zoë Schlanger,
The Atlantic,
7 Mar. 2025
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Dolly Parton and Carl Dean had one of the entertainment industry's most enduring marriages, but very little is known about the country music legend's late husband.—
Ashley Hume,
Fox News,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.—
Star Tribune,
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
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Cite this Entry
“Pettifogging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pettifogging. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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