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the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa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
Global south leaders and activists at the climate summit were left angered by a $300 billion finance deal, a paltry commitment compared with the $1.3 trillion needed for climate adaptation.
—
Shafi Musaddique, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2025
There was a woman in her seventies who had been raped years ago by the father of one of the fifty-one defendants—making the trial, for her, a paltry chance at remedial justice.
—Katie Ebner-Landy, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
In their last 10 games (3-7), the Rockets are a paltry 28th in field goal percentage and 29th on 3-pointers.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
Small storage space in the K4 is on the paltry side, as the center console is pretty dinky and the door pockets shallow.
—Kristin Shaw, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Shafi Musaddique, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2025
There was a woman in her seventies who had been raped years ago by the father of one of the fifty-one defendants—making the trial, for her, a paltry chance at remedial justice.
—Katie Ebner-Landy, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
In their last 10 games (3-7), the Rockets are a paltry 28th in field goal percentage and 29th on 3-pointers.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
Small storage space in the K4 is on the paltry side, as the center console is pretty dinky and the door pockets shallow.
—Kristin Shaw, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
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Its pitiful history includes only one application, less than a decade after its formulation, to strike down a delegation in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935).—
Marie Sapirie,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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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
Adjective
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The alternative — courts that fail to protect our fundamental rights — is unacceptable.—
Peter Martin,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2025
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Environmental groups have long opposed the new reservoir and objected to a shorter judicial review, saying the project will release unacceptable amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas, into the air in addition to other adverse impacts.—
Ari Plachta,
Sacramento Bee,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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As are the people supporting or justifying these vile acts of terrorism.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Feb. 2025
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And for anyone who's forgotten just how vile Whitfield is, the next scene serves as a nasty reminder.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump says Musk heads despite another nominal administrator, led to firing tens of thousands of workers and targeted more.—
Joey Garrison,
USA TODAY,
9 Mar. 2025
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The exposures listed on the initial holdings list do add up to more than 100%, with nominal bonds as the biggest category.—
Jesse Pound,
CNBC,
6 Mar. 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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And another research team, using data from 2015 to 2022, observed in an article available in Energy Research and Social Science that poor income distribution correlates with social unrest when fossil fuel subsidies are removed.—
Aldo Flores-Quiroga,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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Federal workers got commendations, awards, positive reviews – and then were fired for 'poor performance' Taxes are coming.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And then, to top a nasty joke with a nastier one, he was deemed useless for the final twenty years of his life.—
Jackson Arn,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
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That jab opened up several nasty cuts around Rountree's eye and on the bridge of his nose.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Freud’s notion of remembering, the inexact reiteration of what came before, is where creativity emerges—that slight drift from the original that lets something unlikely slip in.—
Namwali Serpell,
The New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2025
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Sugarcane honey is a concentrated form of sugarcane juice that has a slight licorice taste and a touch of bitterness.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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