beggarly

beg·gar·ly

adj \ˈbe-gər-lē\

Definition of BEGGARLY

1

: contemptibly mean, scant, petty, or paltry

2

: befitting or resembling a beggar; especially : marked by extreme poverty

— beg·gar·li·ness noun

Examples of BEGGARLY

1. She received a beggarly sum for her efforts.
2. <the dictator and his inner circle lived in unconscionable luxury while the beggarly masses eked out a pitiful existence>

First Known Use of BEGGARLY

1526

Related to BEGGARLY

Synonyms: beggared, poor, broke, destitute, dirt-poor, down-and-out, famished, hard up, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needful, needy, pauperized, penniless, penurious, poverty-stricken, skint [chiefly British], threadbare

Antonyms: affluent, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, moneyed (also monied), opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do

Related Words: deprived, disadvantaged, dispossessed, unaffluent, underprivileged; bankrupt, bankrupted, bust (or busted), insolvent; possessionless, ruined; depressed, distressed, hand-to-mouth, hardscrabble, pinched, poorish, reduced, straitened; cash-strapped, low, short, tapped out

Near Antonyms: comfortable, prosperous

[+]more[-]hide