petty

(redirected from pettier)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia.

Related to pettier: prettier

pet·ty

(pĕt′ē)

adj. pet·ti·er, pet·ti·est

1. Of small importance; trivial: a petty grievance. See Synonyms at trivial.

2. Showing an excessive concern with unimportant matters or minor details, especially in a narrow-minded way: petty partisanship.

a. Of lesser importance or rank; subordinate: a petty prince.

b. Law Variant of petit.

[Middle English peti, from Old French, variant of petit; see petit.]

pet′ti·ly adv.

pet′ti·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

petty

(ˈpɛtɪ)

adj, -tier or -tiest

1. trivial; trifling; inessential: petty details.

2. of a narrow-minded, mean, or small-natured disposition or character: petty spite.

3. minor or subordinate in rank: petty officialdom.

4. (Law) law of lesser importance

[C14: from Old French petit]

ˈpettily adv

ˈpettiness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pet•ty

(ˈpɛt i)

adj. -ti•er, -ti•est.

1. of little or no importance; inconsequential: petty grievances.

2. of lesser importance or merit; minor: petty considerations.

3. having or showing narrow ideas, interests, etc.: petty minds.

4. ungenerous in trifling matters: a petty person.

5. showing meanness of spirit: a petty revenge.

[1325–75; Middle English peti(t) small, minor < Old French petit < Gallo-Romance *pittīttus]

pet′ti•ly, adv.

pet′ti•ness, n.

syn: petty, paltry, trivial, trifling apply to something that is so insignificant as to be almost unworthy of notice. petty implies lack of significance or worth: petty quarrels. paltry applies to something that is contemptibly small or worthless: I was paid a paltry sum. trivial applies to something that is slight or insignificant, often being in contrast to something that is important: a trivial task. trifling is often interchangeable with trivial; however, trifling implies an even lesser, almost negligible, importance or worth: to ignore a trifling error.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	petty - larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale) petit larceny, petty larceny larceny, stealing, theft, thievery, thieving - the act of taking something from someone unlawfully; "the thieving is awful at Kennedy International"
Adj.	1.	petty - inferior in rank or status; "the junior faculty"; "a lowly corporal"; "petty officialdom"; "a subordinate functionary" junior-grade, lower-ranking, subaltern, lowly, secondary junior - younger; lower in rank; shorter in length of tenure or service
	2.	petty - (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" fiddling, footling, niggling, picayune, piddling, piffling, trivial, lilliputian, little colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech unimportant - not important; "a relatively unimportant feature of the system"; "the question seems unimportant"
	3.	petty - contemptibly narrow in outlook; "petty little comments"; "disgusted with their small-minded pettiness" small-minded narrow-minded, narrow - lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view; "a brilliant but narrow-minded judge"; "narrow opinions"

petty

adjective

1. trivial, inferior, insignificant, little, small, slight, trifling, negligible, unimportant, paltry, measly (informal), contemptible, piddling (informal), inconsiderable, inessential, nickel-and-dime (U.S. slang) Rows would start over petty things.
trivial major, important, significant, essential, considerable, momentous, consequential

2. small-minded, mean, cheap, grudging, shabby, spiteful, stingy, ungenerous, mean-minded I think that attitude is a bit petty.
small-minded liberal, generous, tolerant, open-minded, magnanimous, broad-minded

3. minor, lower, junior, secondary, lesser, subordinate, inferior Wilson was not a man who dealt with petty officials.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

petty

adjective

1. Contemptibly unimportant:

inconsiderable, negligible, niggling, nugatory, paltry, picayune, piddling, small, small-minded, trifling.

Slang: measly.

Idiom: of no account.

2. Not broad or elevated in scope or understanding:

limited, little, narrow, narrow-minded, small, small-minded.

3. Ungenerously or pettily reluctant to spend money:

cheap, close, close-fisted, costive, hard-fisted, mean, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, stingy, tight, tightfisted.

4. Below another in standing or importance:

inferior, junior, lesser, low, lower, minor, minor-league, secondary, small, subaltern, subordinate, under.

Informal: smalltime.

Translations

حَقير، تافِهصَغير، زَهيد

malichernýbanálníbezvýznamnýdrobný

småligubetydeliguvæsentlig

kleinlich lächerlich unbedeutend gering geringfügig

insignificante mezquino nimio pequeño de poca monta

insignifiant mesquin petit

kicsinyes

lítilmótlegursmávægilegur, ómerkilegur

futilit...insi-meschinit...

smulkioms išlaidoms skirti pinigaismulkmeniškumas

maznozīmīgsnejaukssīks, nesvarīgszemisks

insignificante pequeno

malicherný

bayağı önemsiz

不重要的卑劣的次要的狭隘的琐碎的

petty

[ˈpetɪ]

A. ADJ (pettier (compar) (pettiest (superl)))

1. (= trivial) [detail] → insignificante, nimio; [squabble, rivalry, concerns] → pequeño, trivial

2. (= minor) [offence] → menor

3. (= small-minded, spiteful) → mezquino
you're being very petty about it → te estás portando de manera muy mezquina

B. CPD petty cash N → dinero m para gastos menores, caja f chica
petty cash book N → libro m de caja auxiliar
petty crime N → delito m menor
petty larceny N → robo m de menor cuantía
petty officer N → suboficial mf de marina
petty sessions NPL → tribunal msing de primera instancia
petty theft N → robo m de poca monta
petty thief N → ladrón/ona m/f de poca monta

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

petty

[ˈpɛti] adj

[person] (= mean) → mesquin(e)

(= unimportant) → insignifiant(e), sans importancepetty cash n → petite caisse fpetty crime n

(= illegal activities) → délits mpl mineurs

(= illegal act) → délit m mineurpetty criminal n → petit délinquant mpetty officer n → maître m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

petty

adj (+er)

(= trivial) → unbedeutend, belanglos, unwichtig; excuse → billig; crime → geringfügig

(= small-minded) → kleinlich; (= spiteful) remark → spitz; you’re being very petty about it → du bist sehr kleinlich

(= minor) chieftain etc → untergeordnet; (pej) official → unbedeutend, untergeordnet; the petty wars of the time → die Kleinkriege jener Zeit

petty

petty average

n (Naut Jur) → Teilschaden m, → kleine Havarie

petty bourgeois

n, adj = petit bourgeois

petty bourgeoisie

n = petite bourgeoisie

petty cash

n → Portokasse f

petty crime

no pl (= illegal activities) → Kleinkriminalität f

(= illegal act) → Vergehen nt, → Bagatelldelikt nt

petty jury

n → ˜ Geschworene pl

petty larceny

n → einfacher Diebstahl

petty-minded

adj → kleinlich

petty officer

n → Fähnrich m → zur See

petty theft

n → einfacher Diebstahl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

petty

[ˈpɛtɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl)))

a. (trivial, detail, complaint) → insignificante, di poca importanza

b. (minor, official) → subalterno/a

c. (small-minded, spiteful) → meschino/a

petty

(ˈpeti) adjective

1. of very little importance; trivial. petty details.

2. deliberately nasty for a foolish or trivial reason. petty behaviour.

ˈpettily adverb

ˈpettiness noun

petty cash

money used for small, everyday expenses in an office etc.

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

(102) Presumably, pettier offenses entitled to summary proceedings (and therefore not subject to indictment) would not violate the peace of the state based on these indictment clauses.

THE ORIGINAL MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF EARLY STATE PROVISOS TO THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION

While more seriousoffencesare passed to the Crown courts, which have greater sentencing powers, adults guilty of pettier offences are imprisoned for up to six months - or a year for more than one offence - and fined up to [pounds sterling]5,000.

Why these 96 criminals appeared in South London's Magistrates' courts and how they were punished; In just one day, all of these criminals were sentenced for their crimes

"It's great to be able to attract film experts, speakers, directors and musicians such as Sir Sydney Samuelson, Pamela Hutchinson, Magali Pettier, Jonathan Eyre and Michael Nolan, from all over the country to the North East for this cultural event."

Newcastle United rarity is a highlight of film festival; Nostalgia

Apparently, with age, all I seemed to be growing was pettier. But all this keeping track of who wished, who didn't; how does it matter?

Wishes, petty grudges made my birthday special

While I'm on the legendary MOS it's always annoyed me that they release The Album 2008 in 2007 and so on (this complaint looks even pettier on paper).

Now! that's what I call a landmark; CAPITAL SCOTLAND DRIVETIME STAR ON MUSIC'S BIG STORIES EVERY WEEK

It seems like the little tussle between Google and Amazon over YouTube is set to get pettier. American website, TV Answerman reports that the US Patent and Trademark office has received a trademark request from Amazon for 'Amazon Tube' and 'Open Tube'.

Amazon may be planning to launch a YouTube competitor

Siguen las breves palabras: <<Wir sein pettier. Hoc est verum>>, las ultimas palabras escritas por Lutero antes de su muerte, escritas el 16 de febrero de 1546.

Sola Scriptura. Un principio de la reforma en reflexion ecumenica

2012, Cabell, Justice, McGinty, & DeCoster 2015, Daniel, Gagnon, & Pettier 2012, Goh et al.

Improving pre-schoolers' reasoning skills using the philosophy for children programme

The Sad and Beautiful World Of Sparklehorse - a feature-length music documentary, directed by Alex Crowton, senior lecturer in media production at Teesside University - and Addicted To Sheep - made by Magali Pettier and Jan Cawood, who were both part of the DigiTALCITY Fellowship programme supported by Teesside University - had their first US screenings this month.

Films with Tees links show in US

The award for Addicted to Sheep, which was recently screened on television after winning over audiences and critics at cinemas around the country, was collected by director and producer Magali Pettier.

Brendan Healy, Kathy Secker and Alistair Brownlee remembered at Royal Television Society awards; Among the winners at the regional Royal Television Society Awards were ITV's Vera and CBBC's The Dumping Ground

However, the presidency imposes on people different behavior than the one they adopted when navigating pettier political byways.

Maronite marginalization is self-imposed

CITE

Site: Follow: Share:

Open / Close