51Թ

Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

picayune

1

[ pik-ee-yoon, pik-uh- ]

adjective

Informal.
  1. of little value or account; small; trifling:

    a picayune amount.

    Synonyms: , , , , ,

  2. petty, carping, or prejudiced:

    I didn't want to seem picayune by criticizing.

    Synonyms: , , , ,



noun

  1. (formerly, in Louisiana, Florida, etc.) a coin equal to half a Spanish real.
  2. any small coin, as a five-cent piece.
  3. Informal. an insignificant person or thing.

Picayune

2

[ pik-uh-yoon, pik-ee- ]

noun

  1. a town in SE Mississippi.

picayune

/ ˌɪəˈː /

adjective

  1. of small value or importance
  2. mean; petty
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the half real, an old Spanish-American coin
  2. any coin of little value, esp a five-cent piece
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˌ辱ˈܲԾԱ, noun
  • ˌ辱ˈܲԾ, adverb
Discover More

Other 51Թ Forms

  • 辱a·ܲi· adverb
  • 辱a·ܲi·Ա noun
Discover More

51Թ History and Origins

Origin of picayune1

First recorded in 1780–90; from ʰDZç picaioun “small copper coin” (compare French picaillons ), derivative of an unattested onomatopoetic base pikk- “beat,” here referring to the coining of coppers
Discover More

51Թ History and Origins

Origin of picayune1

C19: from French picaillon coin from Piedmont, from ʰDZç picaioun, of unknown origin
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The next-largest categories, and we think the most concerning, encompass election administration and absentee voting – often challenging mechanical, even picayune matters.

From

When Jacobs tells a Kryptos message board he’s visiting the sculpture, the solvers have absurdly picayune requests.

From

Marshall's confirmation was a giant step forward in Supreme Court and U.S. history, but along the way he faced Senate Judiciary Committee questions that were race-baiting, arrogant, irrelevant and picayune.

From

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

From

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

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement