puny

adjective

pu·​ny ˈpyü-nē 

punier; puniest

: slight or inferior in power, size, or importance : weak

punily

ˈpyü-nə-lē 

adverb

puniness

ˈpyü-nē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• bantam
• diminutive
• dinky
• dwarfish
• fine
• half-pint
• Lilliputian
• little
• pint-size
• pint-sized
• pocket
• pocket-size
• pocket-sized
• pygmy
• shrimpy
• slight
• small
• smallish
• subnormal
• toylike
• undersized
• undersize

Examples of puny in a Sentence

I wouldn't mess with him—he makes bodybuilders look puny in comparison.

We laughed at their puny attempt to trick us.

Recent Examples on the Web

Maintaining the status quo of puny connections is the least desirable outcome. —IEEE Spectrum, 8 Aug. 2018

The volume of noteworthy art is greater than ever before, and our list, even at a monumental 100 works, with some 15,000 words of copy to accompany them, looks puny in comparison. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 5 Mar. 2025

Health Care The second-worst sector over the past 12 months was health care, up a puny 4.6%. —John Dorfman, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025

Right now, geothermal energy meets less than one per cent of humanity’s electricity and heating needs—a puny, almost irrelevant portion. —Brent Crane, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Anglo-French puisné younger, weakly, literally, born afterward, from puis afterward + né born

First Known Use

circa 1577, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for puny

• looney
• loony
• mooney
• muni
• nguni
• sunni

Kids Definition

puny

adjective

pu·​ny ˈpyü-nē 

punier; puniest

: slight or lesser in power, size, or importance : weak

puniness noun

Etymology

from early French puisné "younger," literally, "born afterward," from puis "afterward" and né "born"