picayune

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.

The NFL’s picayune rule book is difficult enough to enforce without an inherently arbitrary judgment on what happens after a play.

From Washington Post

But, however overwrought Anna’s sensibility sometimes is, Mrs. Lessing points such powerful significances therefrom that, in comparison, many other highly touted novels dealing with man’s acceptance — or defiance — of his fate seem picayune indeed.

From New York Times

It seems clear that the NFL’s intent is to be picayune in its enforcement at the beginning of the year in the hope that players will be “scared straight.”

From Seattle Times

A huge part of Google’s attention remains occupied by the picayune needs of current and former Office users and can enforce a kind of slow, linear progression in the product roadmap.

From The Verge

The broken window theory has led to picayune and arbitrary law enforcement in poor communities.

From Salon