petty
adjective
of little or no importance or consequence.
petty
1 American
[pet-ee]
/ ˈpɛt i /
adjective
-
pettier,
comparative
-
pettiest
superlative
-
of little or no importance or consequence.
petty grievances.
- Synonyms:
- slight, inconsiderable, negligible, nugatory
- Antonyms:
- important
-
of lesser or secondary importance, merit, etc.; minor.
petty considerations.
-
having or showing narrow ideas, interests, etc..
petty minds.
- Synonyms:
- small
-
mean or ungenerous in small or trifling things.
a petty person.
- Antonyms:
- generous
-
showing or caused by meanness of spirit.
a petty revenge.
-
of secondary rank, especially in relation to others of the same class or kind.
petty states; a petty tyrant.
Petty
2
American
[pet-ee]
/ ˈpɛt i /
noun
-
Richard, born 1937, U.S. racing-car driver.
-
William, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne. William Petty Fitzmaurice Lansdowne.
petty
British
/ ˈpɛtɪ /
adjective
-
trivial; trifling; inessential
petty details
-
of a narrow-minded, mean, or small-natured disposition or character
petty spite
-
minor or subordinate in rank
petty officialdom
-
law of lesser importance
Synonym Usage
Petty, paltry, trifling, trivial apply to something that is so insignificant as to be almost unworthy of notice. Petty implies contemptible insignificance and littleness, inferiority and small worth: petty quarrels. Paltry is applied to something that is beneath one's notice, even despicable: a paltry amount. Something that is trifling is so unimportant and inconsiderable as to be practically negligible: a trifling error. Something that is trivial is slight, insignificant, and even in incongruous contrast to something that is significant or important: a trivial remark; a trivial task.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of petty
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English peti(t) “small, minor,” from Old French petit, from unattested Gallo-Romance pittīttus, of expressive origin
Explanation
Petty used to mean just "petite" or "small," but now it's used for things that are trivial and shouldn’t matter much. If you host world leaders and spend more time picking napkins than memorizing names, you're focused on petty things. A few neutral meanings of petty are still in use today — such as "petty cash," which refers to a small amount of cash on hand — but most uses of petty since the 16th century are negative, as in "narrow-minded," "trivial," and "of little importance." A "petty argument" is a popular expression, because many people get all worked up over something that isn't very important — a petty concern — that seems much smaller after the heat of the moment.
Vocabulary lists containing petty
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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I Am Malala
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Even More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Trade bible Variety called it a "lacerating portrait," while Deadline said the "damning" film had "thrashed" Musk as "petty, narcissistic, megalomaniacal, cruel."
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
“You’re petty to your core with a determination to always get your own way. I wonder what your father would have made of all of this?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
"It started as petty anti-social behaviour pre-Christmas and has escalated to significant shoplifting and theft. We've got to put an end to it," he says.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Characters forced to make do either lash out, like raging overreactors on Lee Sung Jin’s petty, brutal “Beef,” or fall into holding patterns, like the unlucky in love leads of Issa Rae’s dramedy “Insecure.”
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Although they don’t say anything petty or snarky, I can tell right away that they’re jealous of my cousin.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Annie Hoare was among family members waving off HMS Queen Elizabeth from the shore, as her son Thomas is a Petty Officer Weapons Engineer on board.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
“It’s very humbling to be down there and try to bring some of our fellow soldiers, sailors back home,” said Chief Petty Officer Jason Friars, a U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
It will take about another $850 million to finish it, Petty said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The immediate goal is to get the complex looking nearly finished from the outside in time for the Olympics, Petty said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
He, Petty Officer Haldon Lac, was having a moment of greatness, and he wanted everything to be perfect.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
“If I find him annoying, that means that maybe I’m going to come in a little bit pettier than usual,” says Martin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024
Listen, I’m sure there will be a lot of sturm und drang about what the whistleblower disclosures mean for Elon Musk’s Twitter deal, but I want to focus on something dumber and pettier: Jack Dorsey.
From The Verge ● Aug. 23, 2022
What recent appraisals haven’t settled, though, is a pettier tiff among De Palma’s fans, about the “right” way to appreciate De Palma.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2020
Like most reality shows, “Housewives” thrives on drama — the pettier the better.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2020
I show thee what thy predecessors are, And what they were thou feelest, in degree90 Inferior as thy petty feelings and Thy pettier portion of the immortal part Of high intelligence and earthly strength.
From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 5 Poetry by Ernest Hartley Coleridge
The show finds ways to expose the worst in its characters, their pettiest, most vengeful, greediest parts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
It’s elementary: Characters can do outlandish things, commit outrageous crimes, be inspired by the pettiest of motives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
Furst insisted no topic is off the table, from the pettiest accusation to the most serious charge.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
And as days of isolation cascaded this spring and we navigated radically narrowed options, we became our most immature, our wisest, our pettiest, our most magnanimous—sometimes in the space of a heartbeat.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2020
In the pettiest character there are unfathomable depths; and Katherine's, though yet undeveloped, was full of noble aspirations and singularly sensitive.
From The Bow of Orange Ribbon A Romance of New York by Theo. Hampe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
