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the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa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
Paul Goldschmidt’s batting average has dropped from .338 to .304 in June, and his batting line this month is a paltry .170/.241/.245.
—
Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
In this brief moment of time traveling, everything else felt far away— even our increasingly alarmingly political times, marked by a paltry event disguised as a military parade that our eerily authoritarian president was hosting just a few miles from the festival.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
Also disappointing is that the viewfinder remains small, with the same paltry resolution (2.36M dot, 1025 x 768) as the older model.
—Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 14 June 2025
The news inspired Winfrey, who was making ends meet on a paltry salary.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
In this brief moment of time traveling, everything else felt far away— even our increasingly alarmingly political times, marked by a paltry event disguised as a military parade that our eerily authoritarian president was hosting just a few miles from the festival.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
Also disappointing is that the viewfinder remains small, with the same paltry resolution (2.36M dot, 1025 x 768) as the older model.
—Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 14 June 2025
The news inspired Winfrey, who was making ends meet on a paltry salary.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
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And at times, in certain places and situations, it was expected and welcome—on a long walk, or when a person confessed something pitiful, or at a funeral or a party.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
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But Gilbert is oddly silent on this pitiful bouquet of pick-me behaviors in Girl on Girl.—
Book Marks
June 12,
Literary Hub,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
The use of unilateral sanctions against Special Rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
-
Students, both the ones who behave and the ones who misbehave, need to know that there are real consequences for unacceptable behavior.—
Carrie Lukas,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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The tweets, a vile departure from Elmo’s often inspiring and motivational social media cadence, were sent on July 13 and promptly taken down.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
14 July 2025
-
Michael Kracker, the chair of the Erie County Republican Committee, posted the image on X, formerly Twitter, describing it as vile.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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Here’s why: Although technical specifications are still being worked out, the new standard could deliver nominal peak data rates of more than 40Gbps.—
Sarah Lord,
PC Magazine,
1 July 2025
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In practice, that has resulted in the actual levies on imports often being lower than the nominal rate initially announced by the White House.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
27 June 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
-
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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This last group is those with still poor (<50) RS Ratings, but strong (>80) 3-month RS Ratings. a.—
Randy Watts,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
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Here are the inspection scores and violations for restaurants within the city limits of Arlington for June 29th - July 5th, 2025 A score of 100 is a perfect score and 70 is considered to be extremely poor.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Her somewhat implausible problem is that her bad feelings—her irritation, her boredom—never register as such because of her beauty, her wealth, and her pedigree; so great is her beauty that even her nastiest moods feel like a sunny glow to others.—
Claire Jarvis,
New Yorker,
8 July 2025
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But use kind humor, not nasty or deprecating humor.—
Davia Temin,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
Adjective
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And when detecting the artist approaching flow, the device would emit a subtle cue — a slight change in the sound of their instrument or the lighting — to give the brain a subconscious boost and thereby accelerate and enhance one’s immersion into flow.—
Brandon Sneed,
Rolling Stone,
6 July 2025
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Similarly, Morning Consult's June 27 to 29 poll found 47 percent of respondents approved of Trump's job performance, with 50 percent disapproving—a slight improvement from May's 45 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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