piffling

[ pif-ling ]

/ ˈpɪf lɪŋ /

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adjective

of little worth; trifling; piddling: piffling efforts.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of piffling

First recorded in 1890–95; piffle + -ing²

Words nearby piffling

piezoelectricity, piezomagnetic effect, piezometer, piezometry, piffle, piffling, pig, Pigalle, pig bed, pigboat, pig boiling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use piffling in a sentence

Well; first, I knew my daughter couldn't be the piffling lunatic who does your war cookery articles.
The Title|Arnold Bennett
"I don't think we ought to ask a great and busy lawyer to accommodate himself to our piffling social plans," replied Mrs. Joyce.
Victor Ollnee's Discipline|Hamlin Garland
She disliked the round vowels formed with such care that they looked piffling, and the elaborately shaded consonants.
The Man from the Bitter Roots|Caroline Lockhart
Why don't you cut out all this piffling holy talk and go in for something you can do?
The Preacher of Cedar Mountain|Ernest Thompson Seton

I'm sick of lying and pretending, sick of common little piffling notions of what you consider right and wrong.
The "Genius"|Theodore Dreiser

British Dictionary definitions for piffling

piffling

/ (ˈpɪflɪŋ) /

adjective

worthless, trivial

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012