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.

We know this because Charles Dance recites Michelangelo’s snidest journal passages throughout, bringing a welcome pettiness to an otherwise staid chapter of art history.

From Salon • May 16, 2026

More broadly the play is a tart vivisection of human pettiness and venality, as one by one the characters’ prejudices, peccadilloes and blinkered views are exposed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

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

The sheer pettiness of these gripes—the fact that these men continue to filter justice through their small, round, grudge-colored glasses—is what is breathtaking here.

From Slate • May 17, 2024

Anyone but him, thought Lazlo, laughing a little at his own pettiness.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor