peccadillo
1
9.1
- noun
- /ˌpɛkəˈdɪloʊ/
:
peccadillo
- Her only peccadillo was forgetting to send the thank-you notes on time.
- a little peccadillo
- a sexual peccadillo
Examples
-
"You still think he's a sweet old man with a little peccadillo, a lovable scamp who stumbles now and then?
Fiction book (1993) -
And for some damn peccadillo or other, she dismissed me and married a Washington lawyer.
Fiction book (1995) -
So why would I hold breaking news of your peccadillo, senator?
-
"Now take this little peccadillo.
Fiction book (2000) -
We'll rise above this piddling peccadillo.
-
Now he is being pummeled for a peccadillo.
Blog text (10) -
I stayed until Ted was sacked for an alleged peccadillo.
Blog text (28) -
Look at the personal peccadillos of of somebody like like like Bill Gates again, an imperfect man who has changed the world.
-
The Broadwell-Petraeus narrative strikes me as an irrelevant peccadillo.
Blog text (3) -
As long as they can also guarantee that the spouse, the paramour's spouse, the children, the paramour's children, the extended family, the paramour's extended family, the media, and the rest of the world will treat it as a minor peccadillo, sure.
Blog text (9)
Synonyms
133
6.0
A small crime that is less serious than a major crime
38
7.3
A small mistake that shows bad judgment but is not serious
23
6.2
A wrong action that hurts someone or breaks a rule
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Etymology
Peccadillo comes from Spanish and originally meant 'little sin' — from pecado 'sin' plus the small ending -illo 'little', and ultimately from Latin peccatum 'sin'. So a peccadillo is a small fault or tiny wrong act, which is why we use it for a minor mistake people can forgive.