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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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the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of paltry
The Golden State Warriors, for example, shot a paltry 47% from the line compared to their season average 69.7%.
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Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
That sounded alarm bells for Chagossians who remembered the paltry payouts a half-century ago.
—Lorraine Mallinder, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Nov. 2024
His paltry quarterback rating of 66.8 is his lowest mark against any team in the league.
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 14 Nov. 2024
That’s because Ohtani, the Dodgers DH and pitcher, is making a paltry $2 million per season over the next 10 years.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for paltry 
Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
That sounded alarm bells for Chagossians who remembered the paltry payouts a half-century ago.
—Lorraine Mallinder, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Nov. 2024
His paltry quarterback rating of 66.8 is his lowest mark against any team in the league.
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 14 Nov. 2024
That’s because Ohtani, the Dodgers DH and pitcher, is making a paltry $2 million per season over the next 10 years.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
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The Bucs gained 156 yards on 32 carries, with the Giants’ pitiful tackling paving the way to most of those yards.Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
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This pitiful state of affairs has arisen even though the EU has a strong industrial base and counts four of the world’s ten largest arms exporters among its members.Norbert Röttgen, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This time difference is unacceptable and the cause of many breaches.Austin Gadient, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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During Tuesday’s meeting, board members agreed that Morris’ remark was unacceptable.Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Not all these lip products are created equal: some leave a weird white cast, and others taste vile.The Editors, Outside Online, 29 Nov. 2024
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The same people supporting a party that has normalized vile behavior are often the same people criticizing educators for their job performance.Meghan Hatch-Geary, Hartford Courant, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The result of the shift could be a real deal of the century: an abatement of the multipronged conflicts raging in the Middle East, a political horizon and reconstruction for the Palestinians and the Lebanese, and some nominal concessions from Tehran on its nuclear program and regional malfeasance.Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
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Assad retained nominal control of much of the country with Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah assistance.Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 8 Dec. 2024
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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Baby is a poor sleeper, so the mother has to tend to him day and night while also running the household.Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024
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That being said, today was a very poor outing as breadth (advancers vs. decliners) was awful in both markets.Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Wireless Humidifier Another Healthy Home Awards winner, this portable humidifier can sit on top of their desk or nightstand to hydrate dry skin (or help a cold feel a little less nasty).Jessica Kasparian, SELF, 10 Dec. 2024
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Treinen rewarded his manager’s faith in him by retiring the dangerous Giancarlo Stanton on a first-pitch fly out to right field and striking out Anthony Rizzo with a nasty 86-mph sweeper to end the inning.Mike DiGiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Marcello Hernández turns in an excellent performance as Soto, but overall, there is a slight disjointedness to this cold open, even while resurrecting an iconic character.Rosa Escandon, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
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Although the slippers looked nearly identical, a consultant for the Smithsonian analyzed slight differences in the pairs and determined that the ones that were sold on Saturday were in many of the most famous scenes of the movie.Hank Sanders, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near paltry
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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