piddly

adjective

ˈpid-lē How to pronounce piddly (audio)
Definition of piddlynext
as in slight
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention there's only a piddly difference in price between the two paintings, so take whichever you prefer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 piddly The piddly fines certainly aren’t a deterrent. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026 This stole the top spot from 1993, with its piddly 76 days over 100. — Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024 Byrne is still a United States congressman and that’s no piddly thing. — Kyle Whitmire, al, 7 Nov. 2019 This information isn't written in the controller's piddly instruction manual. — Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 16 Nov. 2018 After Kilauea's 1924 summit explosions, the volcano entered a decade of piddly rumblings, followed by 18 years of silence. — Sophia Yan and Malcolm Ritter, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piddly
  1. slight
  2. nominal
  3. tiny
  4. petty
  5. piddling
  6. insignificant
  7. trivial
  8. paltry
Adjective
  • The delicate shape still nods to classic ballet flats, but the slight heel gives everything a little more polish, making the pairing feel less Sunday lunch with your nan and more Copenhagen Fashion Week.
    — Georgia Brown, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Early pothole testing actually caused a slight structural bend in a rear swingarm.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of slight
Adjective
  • The creditor will still have to fork over hard cash to pay for the costs of the auction (which is usually nominal) as well as to compensate the debtor for any exemption value of that asset.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • In the original lawsuit, Hanaway only sought $1 in nominal damages for the state, Cacioppo and his business, Industrial Salvage and Wrecking.
    — Jack Harvel August 26, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of nominal
Adjective
  • The Moon’s awkward angle to Venus this morning may bring tiny mismatches around timing, mood, or social plans, but nothing needs to become a big deal.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Aug. 2026
  • One such collection of it-narratives survives in the form of the tiny manuscript books authored by children associated with the prominent New England Hale family.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of tiny
Adjective
  • Trump will depart sooner or later, the banners will be torn down and much of his petty talk will be and should be forgotten.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The players air their grievances, which are essentially a pile of petty conflicts and resentments that, as Alice warned, can be traced back to the team fracturing into cliques.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.
    — Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020
  • Millions of additional claims are expected to stream in from around the country over the coming weeks, while hiring remains piddling.
    — Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2020
Definition of piddling
Adjective
  • Suddenly, what seemed like an insignificant expense becomes an operational cost that deserves the same scrutiny as cloud infrastructure, software subscriptions or energy consumption.
    — Tiffany Chang, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The inciting incident behind the murder of one of the greatest rappers of all time very well might have been triggered by an ostensibly insignificant brawl at a mall Foot Locker.
    — Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of insignificant
Adjective
  • Getting that apparently trivial behavior working involved Home Assistant, MQTT, custom software, and more Claude, Codex and ChatGPT tokens than one should reasonably associate with boiling pasta.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Thousands of comments flooded the post mocking the department for spending its time on such a trivial matter.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of trivial
Adjective
  • The country is mired in a war with Iran with no graceful exit opportunities; a new round of tariffs threatens to further disrupt fragile global trade relations; and the domestic economy faces inflation combined with paltry growth.
    — Zachary Karabell, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Being paid a paltry second-line rate for the next six years is a bargain.
    — Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Definition of paltry

Browse Nearby Words

piddling
piddly
pidgin
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Piddly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piddly. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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