paltry

adjective

pal·​try ˈpȯl-trē 

paltrier; paltriest

1

: inferior, trashy

built paltry houses unfit for occupancy

2

: mean, despicable

a paltry trick

3

: trivial

a paltry excuse

they in their greatness don't have to bother with such paltry restrictions

—Vanessa Feltz

4

: meager, measly

made a paltry donation

Sales have increased by a paltry two percent.

paltriness noun

Did you know?

Before "paltry" was an adjective, it was a noun meaning "trash." That now obsolete noun in turn came from "palt" or "pelt," dialect terms meaning "a piece of coarse cloth," or broadly, "trash." The adjective "paltry" first meant "trashy," but currently has a number of senses, all generally meaning "no good." A "paltry house" might be run-down and unfit for occupancy; a "paltry trick" is a trick that is low-down and dirty; a "paltry excuse" is a trivial one; and a "paltry sum" is small and insufficient.

Synonyms

• cheap
• contemptible
• cruddy
• deplorable
• despicable
• dirty
• grubby
• lame
• lousy
• mean
• nasty
• pitiable
• pitiful
• ratty
• scabby
• scummy
• scurvy
• sneaking
• sorry
• wretched

Examples of paltry in a Sentence

a paltry, underhanded scheme to get someone fired

the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa

Recent Examples on the Web

Tinder was still in its infancy, a paltry 11 percent of Americans had tried online dating, and the idea of falling for an artificial intelligence companion would have been seen as weird, sad or some combination of the two. —Gina Cherelus, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025

This season, Hill averaged 15.8 PPR PTS in the 10 full games logged by Tua and had a paltry 8.6 mark in the seven contests in which Thompson or Tyler Huntley played. —Brandon Funston, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025

In their wins over Washington, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and New Jersey, the Sharks combined to score a paltry 11 goals. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2025

The film launched in limited release (six venues in total) in late December and has grossed a paltry $91,696 to date. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

obsolete paltry trash, from dialect palt, pelt piece of coarse cloth, trash; akin to Middle Low German palte rag

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

paltry

adjective

pal·​try ˈpȯl-trē 

paltrier; paltriest

1

: petty sense 3, mean

a paltry trick

2

: trivial sense 2, worthless

a paltry sum

paltriness noun