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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paltry
His batting average was a paltry .213, with a .249 on-base percentage and 44 strikeouts.
—
Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 21 May 2025
The 3-hour and 1-minute film’s opening weekend generated a paltry $11 million in domestic ticket sales from June 28-30, 2024, which then plunged to $5.3 million in its second weekend frame.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
Six weeks after capping a career-best season by assisting on the winning goal in the Cup final, Delgado was traded 12 miles up the Harbor Freeway to LAFC, a sacrifice to the league’s paltry salary cap.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025
And yet even that explanation seems a little paltry to me!
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 21 May 2025
The 3-hour and 1-minute film’s opening weekend generated a paltry $11 million in domestic ticket sales from June 28-30, 2024, which then plunged to $5.3 million in its second weekend frame.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
Six weeks after capping a career-best season by assisting on the winning goal in the Cup final, Delgado was traded 12 miles up the Harbor Freeway to LAFC, a sacrifice to the league’s paltry salary cap.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025
And yet even that explanation seems a little paltry to me!
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
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For better or worse, high-end eco-resorts of this type tend to focus on hyper-local ingredients often grown in a pitiful little garden behind the kitchen.—
Christopher Cameron,
Robb Report,
30 May 2025
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From ’01 to ’20, the Knicks played in only 30 postseason games, posting a pitiful 9-21 record.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
18 May 2025
Adjective
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And sometimes the soldiers can do things which are totally unacceptable and can be called crimes.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
6 June 2025
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Shamkhani underscored that the absence of sanctions relief rendered the U.S. plan unacceptable.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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Today's extradition is a giant step forward in holding the defendant accountable for his unspeakably reprehensible and vile efforts to spread fear, chaos, and hate.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
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Finally, the mint julep is a vile almost undrinkable beverage.—
John Cherwa,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Eagles saved a nominal amount of money after months of negotiations.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
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Judges could set the bond at a nominal amount, like $1.—
Caitlin Babcock,
Christian Science Monitor,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
8 June 2021
-
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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This lack of preparation yields poor communication that worsens difficult situations and burns bridges between companies and fired employees.—
Nicole Tidei,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
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The risk extends even to children due to increasing rates of childhood obesity and poor dietary habits.20 As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthy adults have their lipids checked every four to six years.—
MD Published,
Verywell Health,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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Well, as referenced above, the United States was coming out of a nasty recession tied to the crisis in the mortgage market.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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Depending on a team to string together hits — or even contact — to score multiple runs in an inning against pitchers with nasty stuff is a hard way to win.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Bure may not have meant it as a slight, but one of the more notable offenders was Growing Pains, which costarred her brother, Kirk Cameron.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
13 June 2025
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In a slight twist on the usual, the chefs not only get to choose their own sous-chefs, but only those sous-chefs have been flown to Italy for the occasion.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
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