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
  • Valadao, a Republican from Hanford, has won the seat in six of the last seven elections despite the district’s slight Democratic tilt.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • In their paper from September, Minzer and his colleagues proved a slight variant of Khot’s second conjecture that has nearly the same consequences.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of slight
Adjective
  • Not a crisis — yet The negative feedback loop becomes more dangerous when nominal economic growth falls to low levels, causing debt relative to the size of the economy to rise persistently, Reese said.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The Iran war, forest fires and thunderstorms are all talking points this week as F1 gears up for a Bahrain GP held 3,750 miles (6,000 kilometers) away from its nominal host nation.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of nominal
Adjective
  • Crowdsourcing the follow-up work — developing gene therapies or treatments — might prove beyond the scope of this tiny community.
    — Deepa Fernandes, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Radioactive beta particles strike the fibers and trigger tiny pulses of light.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of tiny
Adjective
  • Stanley’s co-defendant, unsuccessful county commissioner candidate and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver Heather Morrow, was found guilty of the petty offenses and the misdemeanor assault charge.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Letts makes the most of his brief screen time as a manipulator whose petty genius lies in creating an artificial scarcity for his affections.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 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
  • During the Eaton fire, the laboratory shut down for two weeks — which is not insignificant for a lab that tracks hold-ups in days.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Sports can seem ridiculously insignificant at moments like that.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of insignificant
Adjective
  • That’s the same reason as why knots in dimension three become trivial or all the same in dimension four.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The agent is better, but the value gained is trivial against what the agent costs.
    — Manu Khetan, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 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
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Cite this Entry

“Piddly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piddly. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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