Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Contemptibly narrow in outlook; small-minded: Describes someone or something characterized by an undue concern with trivial matters, often with a lack of generosity or breadth of vision.
   • Of little importance; trivial: Refers to things that are minor, insignificant, or concerned with unimportant details.
   • Inferior in rank or status; subordinate: Describes a position or person of lower rank or minor authority.

2. Noun:

   • A minor theft; petty larceny: In legal contexts, refers to the theft of property below a certain monetary value, as defined by local law.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (narrow-minded):
  • His constant petty criticisms created a toxic work environment.
  • She refused to engage in petty gossip about her colleagues.
• Adjective (trivial):
  • They wasted time arguing over petty details.
  • The manager was bothered by a petty issue like the font size in the report.
• Adjective (subordinate):
  • The petty officials had no authority to make such a decision.
  • He rose from a petty officer in the navy to a commanding rank.
• Noun (legal):
  • The court handled the case as a simple petty, not a felony.

Advanced Usage

• "Petty cash": A small amount of cash kept on hand for minor or incidental expenses.
  • Please use the petty cash to buy more office supplies.
• "Petty bourgeoisie": (Sociology) The lower middle class, including small business owners, shopkeepers, etc.
  • The policies appealed to the petty bourgeoisie.
• "In a petty manner": Behaving with pettiness.
  • He reacted in a petty manner by ignoring her after their disagreement.

Variants and Related Words

• Pettiness (n): The quality of being petty; concern with trivial matters.
  • The pettiness of the argument was exhausting for everyone.
• Petit (adj): A French term sometimes used in English legal contexts (e.g., petit jury). Note: This is a distinct word but shares an etymological root.
• Petty larceny (n): The specific legal term for minor theft.

Synonyms

• Trivial: Of little value or importance.
• Insignificant: Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.
• Niggling: Annoying; petty, especially in a persistent way.
• Picayune: Of little value or importance; petty.
• Subordinate: Lower in rank or position.

Antonyms

• Important: Of great significance or value.
• Major: Important, serious, or significant.
• Magnanimous: Generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or less powerful person.
• Principal: First in order of importance; main.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Petty revenge": A minor, spiteful act taken to get back at someone.
  • Spreading a rumor was just an act of petty revenge.
• "Petty tyrant": A person who exercises power in a small, mean-spirited, or unjust way over a limited domain.
  • The office manager was a petty tyrant about break times.

Adjective

1. contemptibly narrow in outlook
   • petty little comments
   • disgusted with their small-minded pettiness
2. (informal) small and of little importance
   • a fiddling sum of money
   • a footling gesture
   • our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war
   • a little (or small) matter
   • a dispute over niggling details
   • limited to petty enterprises
   • piffling efforts
   • giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction
3. inferior in rank or status
   • the junior faculty
   • a lowly corporal
   • petty officialdom
   • a subordinate functionary

Noun

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