petty

/'peti/
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petty

A clerk made a petty complaint about the office coffee.

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.
petty

A clerk made a petty complaint about the office coffee.

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)

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