About "petty, trivial"

Question

1) The petty theft stole the petty cash in the petty shop
2) The petty regulation head off the productivity of the social system.
3) She is so petty that she nitpick every trivial problems.

Are "petty" and "trivial" interchangeable in the sentences above?
Are they correct to say like that?

Thank you

Messier42 · Accepted Answer

Is there anyone who can help me with this?

Khoff · Answer

First, please don't be so impatient. We never promised to answer every question within half an hour!

First, "petty thief" (not "theft")and "petty cash" are fixed phrases. You cannot substitute "trivial" for "petty" in these phrases.

Neither "petty shop" nor "trivial shop" makes sense. What are you trying to say about the shop?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by sentence #2. Perhaps "Petty regulations lower productivity . . . "? Here, "trivial" is possible, but "petty" is better.

#3 is okay as corrected: "She is so petty that she nitpicks every trivial problem." I suppose you could switch "petty" and "trivial" here without changing the meaning.

Messier42 · Answer

I was trying to say a small shop through 'petty shop'

Khoff · Answer

That doesn't work.  Just say "small shop."

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