different between insignificant vs petty

English

Etymology

From in- (“not”) +? significant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ns???n?f?k?nt/
• Hyphenation: in?sig?nif?i?cant

Adjective

insignificant (comparative more insignificant, superlative most insignificant)

1. Not significant; not important, inconsequential, or having no noticeable effect.

   Such things are insignificant details compared to the main goal.

2. Without meaning; not signifying anything.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:insignificant

Antonyms

• significant

Derived terms

• insignificance
• insignificantly

Translations

Catalan

Adjective

insignificant (masculine and feminine plural insignificants)

1. insignificant (not important)

   Antonym: significant

Related terms

• insignificança

Further reading

• “insignificant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “insignificant” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “insignificant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “insignificant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Occitan

Adjective

insignificant m (feminine singular insignificanta, masculine plural insignificants, feminine plural insignificantas)

1. insignificant (not important)

   Antonym: significant

Related terms

• insignificança

English

Etymology

From Middle English pety, from Old French peti, petit. Doublet of petit. The disparaging meaning developed over the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?ti/
• Homophone: Petty
  • (General American) IPA^(key): [?p???i]
  • Homophones: Petty, pedi
• Rhymes: -?ti

Adjective

petty (comparative pettier or more petty, superlative pettiest or most petty)

1. (obsolete except in set phrases) Little, small, secondary in rank or importance.

   petty officer, petty cash
2. Insignificant, trifling, or inconsiderable.

   a petty fault
3. Narrow-minded, small-minded.

4. Begrudging in nature, especially over insignificant matters.

   That corporation is only slightly pettier than they are greedy, and they are overdue to reap the consequences.

Synonyms

• (little, unimportant): See Thesaurus:insignificant
• (begrudging): grudgeful, grudging

Antonyms

• (little): See Thesaurus:big
• (begrudging): See Thesaurus:kindly
• (small-minded): broad-minded

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• quibble

Noun

petty (plural petties)

1. (usually in the plural, obsolete) A little schoolboy, either in grade or size.
2. (historical) A class or school for young schoolboys.
3. (dialect, euphemistic) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.

Synonyms

• (school for young schoolboys): ABC, petty school
• (class for young schoolboys): petty form
• (outhouse): See Thesaurus:outhouse

See also

• Petty France

References

• "petty, adj. and n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary (2005), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• “petty”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• petty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• petty in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• pötty

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?p?c?]
• Hyphenation: petty
• Rhymes: -?c?

Noun

petty (plural pettyek)

1. dot, spot, fleck, speck

   Synonyms: folt, pont, paca, pecsét, csepp, (on the face) szepl?

Derived terms

(Expressions):

• hétpettyes katicabogár (“seven-spot[ted] ladybird/ladybug”)

Declension

Further reading

• petty in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmez? szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: ?ISBN