as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
the assistant's job was to shield the president from such footling problems
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dawdling
to spend time doing nothing
spent the morning footling about while others were working
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for footling
Adjective
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Los Angeles stretches its NL West lead to 11 games and maintains MLB’s best record as Ohtani’s star power turns Sacramento’s nominal home crowd into a roaring Dodgers road show.
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The model produces outputs within nominal parameters, but those outputs reflect market conditions that are seconds or minutes stale.
Verb
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Indeed, Ederson has moments where he can be caught dawdling with the ball, hoping for an opening that doesn’t always arrive.
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Further, there’s no excuse for Congress to continue dawdling on farm policy.
Adjective
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There's a marginal risk of severe weather near the Twin Cities, with a slight risk in the central and northwestern part of the state.
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Man, to see that Curaçao player — in a moment that’s quite important to him, that is earned over so many years of effort — give a slight nod to the invisible man, that warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.
Verb
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Martin removed his right fielder for loafing on a ball hit to the outfield.
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Kids who used to run to the field excited to play, suddenly started loafing to the field wearing their crocs with their heads buried in their phones.
Adjective
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Then, the pandemic reduced the schedule to 60 games and Eddie got a piddling 37%.
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Millions of additional claims are expected to stream in from around the country over the coming weeks, while hiring remains piddling.
Verb
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Toward the end of his first day, Chekhov spotted an officer strolling confidently down the street.
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Check out what Northlanders can expect to find while strolling the aisles.
Adjective
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Some were petty — like Reese committing a foul against Clark, then jerking her head back, impersonating Clark as a flopper.
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As long as there have been people, there have been petty complaints about people.
Verb
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At the same time, the sounds of idling diesel work truck engines have replaced that of dozens of fire trucks that had been stationed there for days.
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The second album this year from metalcore pioneers Converge is named for a mysterious, pulsing, low-frequency ambient drone, likened by those who hear it to a diesel engine, an idling airplane, or a kind of inescapable torture.
Cite this Entry
“Footling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/footling. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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