Synonyms of petty
120 similar words · 60 opposite words
Another word for petty is little. Other synonyms of petty are base, contemptible, foolish, for the birds and futile. The opposite of petty is generous.
Synonyms and similar words for petty
adjectiveHaving little or no importance.
- baseOf low value or degree.
- contemptible
- foolish
- for the birds informalNot deserving serious consideration; unimportant; useless, worthless.
- futile
- frivolousOf little weight or importance; not worth notice; slight; trivial.
- idleOf no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
- ignorable
- immaterialOf no importance; inconsequential, insignificant, unimportant.
- inconsequentialHaving no consequence; not consequential; of little importance.
- inconsiderableToo unimportant to be worthy of attention.
- indifferentNot making a difference; without significance or importance.
- insignificant
- like a fart in a windstorm
- meager
- mean
- minor
- miserableWretched; worthless; mean; contemptible.
- negligibleAble to be neglected, ignored or excluded from consideration; too small or unimportant to be of concern.
- nothingburger informalOf less importance than its treatment suggests; insignificant, unimportant; also, bland or unremarkable in appearance...
- nondescript
- nullInsignificant.
- paltryTrashy, trivial, of little value.
- picayuneOf little consequence; small and of little importance; petty, trivial.
- picayunishPetty; paltry; mean.
- piddlingInsignificant, negligible, paltry, trivial, useless.
- piddlySmall, inconsequential, or not worth spending time on.
- pissantInsignificant or unimportant.
- pissass vulgarWorthless, backward, undeveloped, nondescript, reprehensible, or small.
- pitiful
- pointless
- silly
- slightMinor; small in amount.
- ticky-tacky USInferior, minor, trivial.
- tin-pot informalInsignificant or minor, especially in an amusing and petty manner.
- triflingTrivial, or of little importance.
- trivial
- two-bit US, slangInsignificant or worthless.
- unimportantPetty; not important or noteworthy.
- unweightyNot weighty.
- vainHaving no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.
- worthlessHaving no worth or use; without value.
- wretchedOf an insignificant, mean, or poor nature; miserable, paltry, worthless.
- floccinaucinihilipilificatious humorous, rareUnimportant, worthless.
- piteous obsoleteOf little importance or value.
- simple archaicTrivial; insignificant.
adjectiveOf persons or their behaviour: marked by or reflective of undesirably limited interests...
adjectiveInclined to cause frustration or annoyance to others out of spite over minor grievances; extremely...
- pluckcrow
- vengefulVindictive or wanting vengeance.
- vengesomeVengeful.
- vindictive
- avengeful obsoleteVengeful.
- revengeful archaicVengeful, vindictive.
- vengeable obsolete
- vindical obsolete, rareEager to punish; vindicative.
- wreakful obsolete, poeticVengeful; angry, furious.
adjectiveLittle or small in size.
- compact
- fun size euphemisticSmall in size.
- fun-sized euphemistic
- ickleLittle.
- lit'l
- littleSmall, not large, limited, particularly.
- lowSmall, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
- modestSmall, moderate in size.
- miniMiniature, tiny, small.
- pint-sized colloquialComparatively small in size.
- pocket-size
- slim
- small
- small-scale
- undersizedBelow the usual or expected size.
- wee Ireland, ScotlandSmall, little.
- wurly Scotland
nounAn outbuilding used as a lavatory; an outhouse, a privy.
- backhouse
- backside UK
- bog UK, slang
- carsey UK, slangA house.
- craphouse vulgarAn outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- dunnekinAn outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- dunny Australia, slang
- House of Commons Canada, UK
- jakes UK, slangA place to urinate and defecate: an outhouse or lavatory.
- johnny house US, slangAn outhouse or portable toilet.
- karzy UK, slang
- khazi
- kocayA place used for urination and defecation: a latrine; an outhouse; a lavatory.
- little house AustraliaAn outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- long drop Australia
- netty
- outhouse US
- privy
- shield
- shithouse vulgar
- shouse AustraliaAn outhouse; an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- thunderbox Australia, UK
- usual offices UKA place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
- boggard obsolete
- boghouse UK, datedAn outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- chamber foreign obsolete
- common house obsolete
- commons obsoleteAn outhouse.
- Cousin John obsoleteA place or device for urination and defecation: an outhouse or chamber pot.
- danna obsolete, slangHuman feces.
- draught obsolete
- draught-house obsoleteAn outhouse; an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- earth closet UK, datedAn outhouse or lavatory which uses a cesspit rather than a flush toilet and plumbing.
- foreign obsoleteAn outhouse; an outdoor toilet.
- gang obsolete
- gingerbread office obsolete
- gong obsolete
- gonghouse obsolete
- house of ease obsoleteAn outbuilding used to ease one's bowels: an outhouse.
- house of easement obsoleteAn outbuilding in which to do one's easement (defecate): an outhouse.
- house of office UK, obsoleteAn outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- issue obsolete
- jacques obsolete
- jakeshouse obsoleteAn outbuilding with a jakes: an outhouse.
- longhouse obsoleteAn outhouse, an outbuilding used for urination and defecation.
- necessary obsolete
Opposite of petty
adjectiveHaving little or no importance.
- big
- central
- consequential
- critical
- crucial
- epochfulImportant, momentous.
- essentialVery important; of high importance.
- extraordinary
- fateful
- heavy
- pivotal
- high on the totem poleAccorded relatively high importance.
- historic
- innegligibleNot negligible.
- key
- life-or-death
- meaningful
- necessary
- notedWell known because of one's reputation; famous, celebrated.
- noticeable
- observable
- outstanding
- paramountOf the highest importance.
- pertinentImportant with regard to (a subject or matter); pertaining; relevant.
- relevant
- remarkable
- salient
- significant
- unignorableThat cannot be ignored.
- valuable
- vital
- weightyImportant; serious; not trivial or petty.
- fatefraught archaic, rareFateful.
- fatesome rareCharacterised or marked by fate; fateful.
adjectiveOf persons or their behaviour: marked by or reflective of undesirably limited interests...
- broad-mindedHaving an open mind; tolerant of diversity; with broad views on different issues.
adjectiveLittle or small in size.
- ample
- exceeding literary
- cosmic
- bodacious
- broad
- commodious
- considerable
- expansive
- good-sizedOf a reasonably large size.
- full
- generousNoble in behaviour or actions; principled, not petty; kind, magnanimous.
- giantVery large.
- grand
- great
- hefty
- hench
- immense
- jumboEspecially large or powerful.
- larger than life
- leviathanVery large; enormous, gargantuan.
- liberal
- long
- massive
- mega-
- overlargeExcessively large; too big; oversize.
Meaning of petty
- adjective Having little or no importance.
- adjective Of persons or their behaviour: marked by or reflective of undesirably limited interests, sympathies, or views; begrudging, selfish, small-minded; also, preoccupied with subjects having little or no importance and not mindful of broader concerns.
- adjective Inclined to cause frustration or annoyance to others out of spite over minor grievances; extremely vindictive.
petty in other languages
Questions about synonyms of petty
- What is another word for petty?
- Petty has 120 synonyms on Word.ws, such as little, base, contemptible, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous and idle.
- What is the opposite of petty?
- The opposite of petty is generous.
- What does petty mean?
- Petty means having little or no importance.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: petty (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of petty.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/petty. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.