pettiness

American  

[pet-ee-nis] / ˈpɛt i nɪs /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being of little, lesser, or no importance, consequence, or merit; insignificance.

   The economic cost of these wildfires pales into pettiness when compared to the real victims—the wildlife and the natural landscape.

   The film is a comedy about the boredom, pettiness, and general strangeness of working in an office, as the protagonists spend their days plotting a way out of their dull and meaningless jobs.

2. the quality or condition of having or expressing limited ideas, interests, etc.; narrow-mindedness.

   The novel is set against a background of small-town deceit and pettiness.

3. the quality or condition of being unkind, stingy, or ungenerous, especially in small or trifling things; meanspiritedness.

   Their pettiness is perhaps best demonstrated by the threatened removal of an assortment of services provided to residents—things like fresh fruit, free coffee, and a monthly outing.

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Etymology

Origin of pettiness

petty ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

This is a novel about pettiness, middle-class superficiality, disloyalty, prejudice and cruelty, with this coterie of rather vile friends acting as a microcosm for a society in decline.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Perhaps Melania is just matching her husband’s destructive pettiness, in which case she’s joined an allegedly growing number of women of means who opt for quiet quitting their unhappy marriages rather than divorcing.

From Salon • Dec. 11, 2025

Based on an especially tough-minded piece of writing, this is a film that will get you contemplating pettiness and righteousness both.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

The sheer pettiness of these gripes—the fact that these men continue to filter justice through their small, round, grudge-colored glasses—is what is breathtaking here.

From Slate • May 17, 2024

He wasn’t vulnerable to that kind of pettiness.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee