Petty — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)

inferior in rank or status

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pˈɛɾi/

🇬🇧British English

/pˈɛti/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pˈɛti/

2 syllables Say it as /pˈɛɾi/.

Examples

the junior faculty
a lowly corporal
petty officialdom

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

piffling junior-grade petty larceny footling niggling lower-ranking fiddling lowly petit larceny picayune piddling secondary lilliputian trivial small-minded subaltern little

Antonyms

grand larceny

Parts of Speech

noun	larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)
adjective	inferior in rank or status “the junior faculty”
adjective	(informal) small and of little importance “a fiddling sum of money”
adjective	contemptibly narrow in outlook “petty little comments”

Word Forms

pettiness	noun	the quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous
subaltern	noun	a British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain
littleness	noun	lack of generosity in trifling matters
trivialize	verb	make trivial or insignificant
trivia	noun	something of small importance
triviality	noun	the quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

belanglos

Diebstahl von Eigentum, dessen Wert unter einem bestimmten Betrag liegt (der Betrag variiert je nach Gebietsschema)

🇫🇷French

petit

vol de biens ayant une valeur inférieure à un certain montant (le montant varie selon les régions)

🇪🇸Spanish

insignificante

hurto de propiedad que tiene un valor inferior a cierta cantidad (la cantidad varía según la localidad)

🇮🇹Italian

trascurabile

furto di proprietà di valore inferiore a un determinato importo (l'importo varia in base al luogo)

🇳🇱Dutch

kleinzielig

diefstal van eigendommen met een waarde van minder dan een bepaald bedrag (het bedrag varieert per land)

🇵🇹Portuguese

pequeno

furto de propriedade com valor inferior a algum valor (o valor varia de acordo com a localidade)

🇷🇺Russian

мелкий

кража имущества, стоимость которого меньше определенной суммы (сумма зависит от региона)

India

🇮🇳Hindi

क्षुद्र

कुछ राशि से कम मूल्य वाली संपत्ति की चोरी (राशि स्थान के अनुसार भिन्न होती है)

🇧🇩Bengali

ক্ষুদ্র

কিছু পরিমাণের চেয়ে কম মূল্যের সম্পত্তির লুটপাট (পরিমানটি লোকেলে পরিবর্তিত হয়)

🇮🇳Tamil

குட்டி

சில தொகையை விட குறைவான மதிப்பைக் கொண்ட சொத்தின் திருட்டு (தொகை உள்ளூர் அடிப்படையில் மாறுபடும்)

🇮🇳Telugu

చిన్నపాటి

కొంత మొత్తం కంటే తక్కువ విలువ కలిగిన ఆస్తి యొక్క చోరీ (మొత్తం లొకేల్‌ను బట్టి మారుతుంది)

🇮🇳Marathi

क्षुद्र

काही रकमेपेक्षा कमी मूल्य असलेल्या मालमत्तेची चोरी (रक्कम स्थानानुसार बदलते)

🇮🇳Gujarati

નાનું

અમુક રકમ કરતાં ઓછી કિંમત ધરાવતી મિલકતની ચોરી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕ್ಷುಲ್ಲಕ

ಕೆಲವು ಮೊತ್ತಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮೌಲ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಆಸ್ತಿಯ ಕಳ್ಳತನ (ಮೊತ್ತವು ಸ್ಥಳದಿಂದ ಬದಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ)

🇮🇳Malayalam

ചെറിയ

കുറച്ച് തുകയിൽ താഴെ മൂല്യമുള്ള വസ്തുവകകളുടെ മോഷണം (തുക പ്രാദേശികമായി വ്യത്യാസപ്പെടുന്നു)

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਛੋਟਾ

ਕੁਝ ਰਕਮ ਤੋਂ ਘੱਟ ਮੁੱਲ ਵਾਲੀ ਜਾਇਦਾਦ ਦੀ ਲੁੱਟ (ਮਿਆਦ ਲੋਕੇਲ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਵੱਖਰੀ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ)

🇵🇰Urdu

چھوٹا

جائیداد کی چوری جس کی قیمت کچھ رقم سے کم ہو (رقم مقامی کے لحاظ سے مختلف ہوتی ہے)

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

小气

盗窃价值低于一定金额的财产（金额因地区而异）

🇯🇵Japanese

つまらない

一定の金額未満の価値を持つ財産の窃盗（金額は地域によって異なります）

🇰🇷Korean

자그마한

일정 금액 미만의 가치를 지닌 재산 절도(금액은 지역에 따라 다름)

🇻🇳Vietnamese

nhỏ mọn

trộm cắp tài sản có giá trị nhỏ hơn một số tiền (số tiền thay đổi tùy theo địa phương)

🇹🇭Thai

จิ๊บจ๊อย

การขโมยทรัพย์สินที่มีมูลค่าน้อยกว่าจำนวนหนึ่ง (จำนวนเงินแตกต่างกันไปตามสถานที่)

🇮🇩Indonesian

cerewet

pencurian properti yang nilainya kurang dari jumlah tertentu (jumlahnya bervariasi menurut lokasi)

🇵🇭Filipino

maliit

pandarambong ng ari-arian na may halagang mas mababa sa ilang halaga (nag-iiba ang halaga ayon sa lokal)

🇲🇾Malay

picisan

rompakan harta yang mempunyai nilai kurang daripada jumlah tertentu (jumlah berbeza mengikut tempat)

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تافهة

سرقة الممتلكات التي تقل قيمتها عن مبلغ معين (يختلف المبلغ حسب المنطقة)

🇮🇷Persian

خرده پا

سرقت اموالی که ارزش آن کمتر از مقداری است (مقدار بر اساس منطقه متفاوت است)

🇹🇷Turkish

küçük

Değeri belirli bir tutarın altında olan mülkün çalınması (miktar bölgeye göre değişir)

🇮🇱Hebrew

קַטנוּנִי

גניבה של נכס בעל ערך נמוך מסכום כלשהו (הסכום משתנה לפי אזור)

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'petty'?

The primary meaning of 'petty' is 'larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'petty' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'petty' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'petty' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'petty' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'petty' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'petty' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'petty' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'petty' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'petty' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'petty' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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