peccadillo

noun

Definition of peccadillonext
as in crime
a small mistake or fault that is not regarded as very bad or serious His political career was marked by numerous peccadillos, but no huge scandals.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of peccadillo Yet the Biden Justice Department remains indifferent, as if the issue were merely the personal peccadillos of the president’s ne’er-do-well son, Hunter. — Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 25 May 2023 His audiences know that family peccadilloes are a cornerstone of that material, which nestles this fictional exploration of similar subject matter firmly in his comfort zone. — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 24 May 2023 Sadly, performance and build quality didn’t live up to the promise, and fewer than 9,000 units were made by the time the entire operation was shuttered following John DeLorean’s white-powder peccadillo. — Robert Ross, Robb Report, 29 Aug. 2022 Tens, then hundreds of millions of these AR spectacles will be mapping the contours of the world, along with all of its people, pets, possessions, and peccadilloes. — Mark Pesce, IEEE Spectrum, 17 Dec. 2020 See All Example Sentences for peccadillo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peccadillo
  1. crime
  2. error
  3. misconduct
  4. wrongdoing
Noun
  • Xuan’s attorney, Mitchell Krems, previously noted his client had never been convicted of a crime.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The frontrunner is Marine Le Pen, who has worked for years to make her far-right party, the National Rally, more electable while campaigning on immigration, crime, and denunciation of an out-of-touch political class.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of crime
Noun
  • Someone who visits the malicious website directly may see a 404 error page instead of the fake installer.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The experts, who had all studied AI in academic settings, all brought up the ironies of the automation problem, where AI makes errors that humans can’t catch.
    — Adam Clark Estes, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of error
Noun
  • The Justice Department has charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are said to have voted as noncitizens.
    — SAFIYAH RIDDLE, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • SafeSport, a nonprofit established to prevent the abuse of athletes and address misconduct allegations, was dismissed as a defendant in two lawsuits filed by gymnasts that allege the organization did not properly investigate Gardner.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of misconduct
Noun
  • Martin Zummach, an attorney who represents the officer who fired the shot that killed Kohen, says the attorney general's findings cleared his client of criminal wrongdoing.
    — SOPHIE BATES, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Xuan and Zhang, who have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing through their attorneys, were ordered held in lieu of $20 million bail.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of wrongdoing

Browse Nearby Words

pebbly
peccadillo
peccadilloes
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Peccadillo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peccadillo. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All