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the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa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
Both Suarez and Pardo have argued that switching to even years will boost Miami’s typically paltry voter turnout while significantly reducing election costs, since municipal races would be included on the general election ballot, rather than the city needing to host its own election each time.
—
Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Employees, many of whom were classified as part-time or independent contractors, earned paltry wages despite working gruelling weeks.
—Thessaly La Force, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
This final exchange pointed again to the paltry outcomes of the summit.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 16 Aug. 2025
His second wife, rich and vulgar, is the polar opposite of the first duchess’s distinction, just as Paracelsus’s elegant opacity is a better version of the paltry resident magician and alchemist whom the duke can afford.
—Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Employees, many of whom were classified as part-time or independent contractors, earned paltry wages despite working gruelling weeks.
—Thessaly La Force, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
This final exchange pointed again to the paltry outcomes of the summit.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 16 Aug. 2025
His second wife, rich and vulgar, is the polar opposite of the first duchess’s distinction, just as Paracelsus’s elegant opacity is a better version of the paltry resident magician and alchemist whom the duke can afford.
—Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
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Even the minimum requirement — qualifying for the Champions League — depends on it because six points out of a possible 18 away from home so far is pitiful.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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With a release on just over 2,000 screens, that's a pitiful per-theater-average of $649.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable.—
Katherine Faulders,
ABC News,
7 Nov. 2025
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Hufanga deemed that first-quarter Jeanty touchdown unacceptable because any touchdown is unacceptable at this point to Denver’s defense.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Players have faced vile fan reactions and even death threats for their failure to satisfy bettors in the moment.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
26 Oct. 2025
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The Minnesota Vikings condemned the vile racist message defensive back Isaiah Rodgers received following the team’s 28-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In addition to the music, train rides will be offered around the park for a nominal fee courtesy of the Poway-Midland Railroad.—
Elizabeth Marie Himchak,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
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Kim Yong Nam was not related to Kim Jong Un, but his loyalty to the ruling family enabled him to serve as president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly—the country's nominal head of state—from 1998 until April 2019.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The flowers are the best, even if the leaves are lame and flop over.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
25 Oct. 2025
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Cut to Culhane doing lame bits with chopsticks as walrus teeth.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The growth of passive investing, through index funds found in the 401(k) accounts of average Americans, has propped up the stock market while also potentially setting it up for a nasty fall.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
7 Nov. 2025
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Instead of this stuff that's raised overseas that's done in ways that doesn't have any checks, that it's got polluted water, it's being fed really nasty stuff, full of antibiotics, full of chemicals.—
Dan Morrison,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The score indicates a slight improvement from the 2023-24 school year, when 26% of students achieved Level 3 or 4.—
Dmitry Martirosov,
Arkansas Online,
12 Nov. 2025
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Katy Perry's manager appeared to take a slight dig at Wendy's, months after the fast food chain's comments about his pop star client.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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