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

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

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

He wasn’t vulnerable to that kind of pettiness.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee