paltry
Americanadjective
-
ridiculously or insultingly small.
a paltry sum.
- Synonyms:
- insignificant, slight, inconsiderable, minor
-
utterly worthless.
-
mean or contemptible.
a paltry coward.
adjective
-
insignificant; meagre
-
worthless or petty
Related Words
See petty.
Other Word Forms
- paltrily adverb
- paltriness noun
- unpaltry adjective
Etymology
Origin of paltry
First recorded in 1560–70; from Low German paltrig “ragged,” equivalent to *palter “rag” ( dialectal German Palter ) + -ig -y 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prisoners were allowed to slowly build up the paltry offerings of its libraries.
"It's a paltry sum when you think about the number of households on heating oil," he said.
From BBC
The sales column for the last few months held paltry sums for curios and a few smaller pieces of furniture.
From Literature
This previously has sparked concerns over the company’s ability to service its debt and dividend obligations, as Bitcoin dominates its balance sheet and the company brings in comparably paltry revenue from its legacy software business.
From Barron's
Against Ireland a fortnight ago, England made 16 visits to the opposition 22, but returned with a relatively paltry 21 points.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
