pettiness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This is a novel about pettiness, middle-class superficiality, disloyalty, prejudice and cruelty, with this coterie of rather vile friends acting as a microcosm for a society in decline.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Perhaps Melania is just matching her husband’s destructive pettiness, in which case she’s joined an allegedly growing number of women of means who opt for quiet quitting their unhappy marriages rather than divorcing.

From Salon • Dec. 11, 2025

Based on an especially tough-minded piece of writing, this is a film that will get you contemplating pettiness and righteousness both.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

Brooks was arrested and told officers: "It was really just pettiness on the part of people - I know I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have done Photoshop."

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2025

It rises inside me, unabated by the dim pettiness of university politics or mind-numbing everyday rules.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older