Hence the cunning measure of appointing as ambassador some political pettifogger skilled in delays, sophisms, and misapprehensions, and dexterous in the art of baffling argument.
Source: wiktionary
Pettifogger
//ˈpɛtɪˌfɒɡə//
Synonyms for "pettifogger" (68 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (14)
Strong matches (20)
Related words (34)
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
Translations
40 translations across 15 languages.
Bulgarian
2 entries- буквояд noun (Someone who quibbles)
- педант noun (Someone who quibbles)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 訟棍 /讼棍 noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Czech
1 entries- vinklář noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Danish
4 entries- lommeprokurator noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- lovtrækker noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- ordkløver noun (Someone who quibbles)
- vinkelskriver noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Dutch
2 entries- mierenneuker noun (Someone who quibbles)
- muggenzifter noun (Someone who quibbles)
Finnish
1 entries- pilkunviilaaja noun (Someone who quibbles)
French
2 entries- avocaillon noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- chicaneur noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
German
4 entries- Erbsenzähler noun (Someone who quibbles)
- Haarspalter noun (Someone who quibbles)
- Kleingeist noun (Someone who quibbles)
- Rechtsverdreher noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Italian
1 entries- leguleio noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Latin
3 entries- lēgulēius noun (Someone who quibbles)
- lēgulēius noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- rabula noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Norwegian Bokmål
2 entries- ordkløyver noun (Someone who quibbles)
- vinkelskriver noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Polish
3 entries- kłótnica noun (Someone who quibbles)
- kłótnik noun (Someone who quibbles)
- przechera noun (Someone who quibbles)
Portuguese
1 entries- rábula noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Spanish
4 entries- abogadillo noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- buscapleitos noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- leguleyo noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- picapleitos noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Swedish
4 entries- brännvinsadvokat noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
- hårklyvare noun (Someone who quibbles)
- krångelmakare noun (Someone who quibbles)
- lagvrängare noun (An unscrupulous lawyer)
Sample sentences
5 total sentences available.
"An inn, or a tavern . . . these are places where greasy citizens take pipe and pot, where the knavish pettifoggers of the law spunge on their most unhappy victims.
Source: wiktionary
This gentleman (for such he was, however strange ladies who class country attorneys with vulgar pettifoggers in fashionable novels may deem the assertion) was the son of a brave officer,...
Source: wiktionary
. . .yet he has never sought by browbeating and other arts of the pettifogger, to confuse, baffle, and bewilder a witness. . . .
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 5 available sentences.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.