puny

pu·ny

adjective \ˈpyü-nē\

pu·ni·erpu·ni·est

Definition of PUNY

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

— pu·ni·ly \ˈpyü-nə-lē\ adverb

— pu·ni·ness \ˈpyü-nē-nəs\ noun

Examples of PUNY

1. I wouldn't mess with him—he makes bodybuilders look puny in comparison.
2. We laughed at their puny attempt to trick us.

Origin of PUNY

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

First Known Use: 1593

Related to PUNY

Synonyms

bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, pint-size (or pint-sized), pocket, pocket-size (also pocket-sized), small, pygmy, shrimpy, slight, smallish, subnormal, toylike, undersized (also undersize)

Antonyms

big, biggish, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome, husky, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, outsize (also outsized), overscale (or overscaled), oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, tidy, whacking, whopping

Related Words

dwarf, toy; runtish, runty, scrubby, stunted; bitty, inappreciable, infinitesimal, little bitty, micro, microscopic (also microscopical), mini, miniature, miniaturized, minikin, minim, minuscule, minute, pinpoint, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, weeny (also weensy); meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy; deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting; bite-size (also bite-sized), capsule

Near Antonyms

bulky, hefty, hulking, massive, voluminous; boxcar, Brobdingnagian, Bunyanesque, cavernous, colossal, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, giant, gigantic, gross, Himalayan, herculean, heroic (also heroical), huge, humongous (also humungous), immense, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, monolithic, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, pharaonic, prodigious, staggering, stupendous, titanic, tremendous, vast; abundant, ample, appreciable, bountiful, copious, generous, healthy, liberal, plenteous, plentiful; fat, thick; broad, wide; boundless, cosmic (also cosmical), immeasurable, incalculable, infinite; adequate, enough, sufficient

Rhymes with PUNY

gooney, loonie, loony, Moonie, moony, muni, puisne, spoony, swoony, Zuni