as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
offered her guest only one measly cookie
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Recent Examples of measly
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
Game 2 is Wednesday at Paycom Center after another measly 48-hour reset period.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for measly
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
Game 2 is Wednesday at Paycom Center after another measly 48-hour reset period.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for measly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for measly
Adjective
-
Bills for Medicaid recipients are supposed to be sent to Medicaid, not the patients, who typically pay a nominal amount, if anything, for their care.—
Rae Ellen Bichell,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The courts are open to JCCOC members, though guests can accompany for a nominal fee and decide whether to join.—
Greg Mellen,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This marked a slight increase on figures from August, during which time Moscow claimed to have downed 2,786 Ukrainian drones at an average rate of nearly 90 per day.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
-
International undergraduate enrollment stayed the same, with a slight increase in international freshmen, Miner said.—
David Ferrara,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The barbecue rub seasoning adds a tiny bit of that familiar barbecue sweet-savory mixture.—
Marianne Williams,
Southern Living,
28 Sep. 2025
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As a child in Cuba, Mike Fernandez watched as his teachers were replaced with government instructors, books vanished from classroom shelves and ultimately, Communist Party officials took over his dad's tiny sandwich stand.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Fed Chair Jerome Powell had already opened the door to a September rate cut during a speech last month before the BLS released another brutal jobs report Friday, showing a paltry gain of 29,000 jobs in August.—
Sylvan Lane,
The Hill,
9 Sep. 2025
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But those refunds were relatively paltry.—
Erin Doherty,
CNBC,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Measly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/measly. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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