Meaning & use
piddling
Last updated
UK/ˈpɪdlɪŋ/
US/ˈpɪdlɪŋ/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.
Meaning
adjectivebefore a nouninformaldisapproving
Too small or unimportant to deserve attention, often said with scorn.
Grammar: Almost always before a noun: a piddling amount.
Patterns
- a piddling amount of something
They offered a piddling sum for months of work.
I won't argue over a piddling difference of two dollars.
He wasted the afternoon on piddling details.
Common combinations
- piddling amount
- A piddling amount of rain fell all summer.
- piddling sum
- She was paid a piddling sum.
- piddling details
- Don't get lost in piddling details.
- piddling wage
- They live on a piddling wage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trifling
- Is more formal and less scornful.
- measly
- Stresses meanness or stinginess of an amount.
- petty
- Often suggests small-mindedness as well as smallness.
Opposites
Word family
- piddle verb
- to waste time on unimportant things
Commonly confused: piddling or paltry?
piddling vs paltry
Paltry is similar but more neutral; piddling sounds more casual and scornful.
Practice
Which sentence best uses 'piddling'?
Choose one answer.
Piddling means small and scornfully dismissed, which fits a tiny wage. The others contradict the meaning.
Make it your own
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