as in nominal
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
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Recent Examples of piddly
This stole the top spot from 1993, with its piddly 76 days over 100.
—
Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024
This stole the top spot from 1993, with its piddly 76 days over 100.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024
Adding an additional 23,000 km is really a piddly amount.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 21 Sep. 2010
Online savings accounts have proliferated in recent years, offering higher yields than the piddly rates attached to ordinary savings accounts, which are less than 0.1%, on average.
—Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
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
But sometimes self-denial is its own form of power, as you are no doubt noticing, crammed into that piddly apartment.
—Helaine Olen, Slate Magazine, 25 Jan. 2017
Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024
This stole the top spot from 1993, with its piddly 76 days over 100.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024
Adding an additional 23,000 km is really a piddly amount.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 21 Sep. 2010
Online savings accounts have proliferated in recent years, offering higher yields than the piddly rates attached to ordinary savings accounts, which are less than 0.1%, on average.
—Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
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
But sometimes self-denial is its own form of power, as you are no doubt noticing, crammed into that piddly apartment.
—Helaine Olen, Slate Magazine, 25 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piddly
Adjective
-
While that may seem nominal, its underlying business is more profitable.—
Ryan Baker,
CNBC,
14 June 2025
-
Ethiopia is projected to lose the most aid in nominal terms, with Jordan, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo also hit particularly hard.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
In a slight twist on the usual, the chefs not only get to choose their own sous-chefs, but only those sous-chefs have been flown to Italy for the occasion.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
-
Bure may not have meant it as a slight, but one of the more notable offenders was Growing Pains, which costarred her brother, Kirk Cameron.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
McCartney, who played a residency at New York’s tiny Bowery Ballroom back in February, has no tour dates presently on his 2025 calendar.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2025
-
And with the ability to connect more than 120 devices, the tiny Slate 7 is suitable for use by work teams, families and multi-device users.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
Which party is willing to set aside petty differences and ego, and work in the interests of American prosperity?—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
6 June 2025
-
This Christlike journey of scapegoating and torment ends in comeuppance for the haters and doubters, whose petty provocations tend to evoke a Bond villain in adolescence.—
Joshua Hunt,
Vulture,
5 June 2025
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
Adjective
-
Given Kuwait’s preference for diversifying its military arsenal—for instance, its air force operates the U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon—its continued operation of the Abrams as its sole MBT isn’t insignificant and will likely remain the case for years to come.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
-
With that in mind, the Democratic vacancies were practically insignificant.—
Amie Parnes,
The Hill,
27 May 2025
Adjective
-
Matter These are not trivial or speculative technologies.—
Virginie Berger,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
-
If the buyer is complaining about cosmetic or trivial things, like the dark blue wall in the main bathroom or the leaky kitchen faucet, think twice about acquiescing.—
Lew Sichelman,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
This paltry increase is even more worrying given drastic price cuts seen in the EV market in 2024.—
Ashley Nunes,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2025
-
The total in the first quarter of 2017 was a paltry $15,232.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piddly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piddly. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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