1
as in pitiful
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
a paltry, underhanded scheme to get someone fired
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa
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3
as in vile
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
just some paltry ruse to bilk the system
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4
as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
wanted me to sell him my old records for a paltry sum
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paltry
Bannon and three other men were accused of pocketing donations, while the group managed to build a paltry three miles of fencing along the southern border.
—
Adam Reiss,dan Mangan, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2025
The amount of snow will be paltry, with only a dusting to light snowfall likely.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 10 Feb. 2025
For comparison, a state-of-the-art 5th-gen Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multirole stealth fighter has a paltry thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.87 or so.
—New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2025
Some companies just skip iOS protection, while others offer a paltry set of features.
—PCMAG, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Adam Reiss,dan Mangan, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2025
The amount of snow will be paltry, with only a dusting to light snowfall likely.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 10 Feb. 2025
For comparison, a state-of-the-art 5th-gen Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multirole stealth fighter has a paltry thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.87 or so.
—New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2025
Some companies just skip iOS protection, while others offer a paltry set of features.
—PCMAG, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
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Kubrick’s film is a hell of a black comedy that satirizes the mediocrity of middle-class life: In the director’s world, fathers are pitiful providers, mothers are blandly cheerful (while quietly suffering enormously), and the kids see far more than their parents do.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
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The result was a pitiful offensive performance by Kansas City and one of the worst games of Mahomes’ career.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC News,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Many of them will likely be seen in Kyiv as unacceptable.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN,
18 Feb. 2025
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Without any supporting facts alleging, political impropriety, unacceptable public safety threats, national security concerns, and the potential failure of not executing federal immigration initiatives and policies, all of which will have an impact on Adams’ ability to govern NYC.—
Arnold Kriss,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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There’s a reserved spot in hell for the s*** stains pursuing this vile campaign to erase trans people.—
Andrew Sheeler,
Sacramento Bee,
17 Feb. 2025
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Kanye was tweeting vile antisemitism nonstop since last week.—
James Hibberd,
The Hollywood Reporter,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Howe used four different left-backs last term, mainly fielding Dan Burn there (a nominal centre-back at 6ft 7in/201cm), while Newcastle were the most one-sided team in the league for crosses — over 60 per cent came from the right.—
Liam Tharme,
The Athletic,
24 Feb. 2025
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Out of all of the foreign investment sources that have pumped cash into South Florida real estate, financial institutions, and new businesses over the years, Saudi Arabia is a nation that at best has a nominal presence in the region.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
8 June 2021
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My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.—
Tim Neville,
Outside Online,
23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
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Without education, students with disabilities face higher rates of poverty, unemployment, poor health, and social isolation.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
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This initiative helped avert potential global famines and boosted incomes for poor farmers, particularly in Asia.—
A.J. Russo,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Poles needs to find difference-makers, nasty offensive linemen, game-wrecking defensive linemen, ravenous pass rushers … again, the Bears have a lot of needs.—
Jon Greenberg,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
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Meanwhile, Stacey woke up with a nasty hangover from the night prior.—
Abigail Adams,
People.com,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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But if Maxey asserts himself as a nightly threat to erupt for 25-plus points, Embiid could take a slight step back on offense next season.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
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This scale ranks objects from 0, meaning no impact, to 10, which is (ok, this is a slight exaggeration) nearly as bad as the destruction of Alderaan in Star Wars.—
Eric Berger,
Ars Technica,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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