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

A maddening combination of good intentions and self-destructive tendencies — accommodating sensitivity and unforgivable pettiness — Vicente has a sharp mind for math, physics and astronomy that he loves sharing with his daughters.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2024

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

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

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older