measlier; measliest
1
: infected with measles
2
a
: containing larval tapeworms
b
: infested with trichinae
3
: contemptibly small
Examples of measly in a Sentence
She complained about being given such a measly raise.
All I want is a few measly minutes of your time.
Recent Examples on the Web
Musk, Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg are all fans of Iain Banks’s Culture series, which imagines a post-scarcity socialist utopia where all of our measly 21st-century problems have been solved by technological advancement.
—
Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 21 June 2025
The tacky-meter reaches new heights when Brit presents the Housewives (of course no one else got gift bags) some of her shapewear in sad cardboard boxes without a lick of tissue paper or even a measly bow.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 26 May 2025
For the fifth Game 7 in a row, the Leafs scored one measly goal.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 19 May 2025
But the Democratic congressional leadership, with their measly 27 percent approval rating, managed to beat him to the bottom.
—Gregory Wallance, The Hill, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for measly
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Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 21 June 2025
The tacky-meter reaches new heights when Brit presents the Housewives (of course no one else got gift bags) some of her shapewear in sad cardboard boxes without a lick of tissue paper or even a measly bow.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 26 May 2025
For the fifth Game 7 in a row, the Leafs scored one measly goal.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 19 May 2025
But the Democratic congressional leadership, with their measly 27 percent approval rating, managed to beat him to the bottom.
—Gregory Wallance, The Hill, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for measly
Cite this Entry
“Measly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/measly. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
measly
adjective
mea·sly
ˈmēz-(ə-)lē 
measlier; measliest
: so small or unimportant as to deserve scorn
left a measly nickel tip
Medical Definition
measly
adjective
mea·sly
ˈmēz-(ə-)lē
measlier; measliest
1
: infected with measles
2
a
: containing larval tapeworms
b
: infected with trichinae
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