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the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa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
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
In May of 2025, that number fell to a staggering $961,084, while June was an equally paltry $1 million.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
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
In May of 2025, that number fell to a staggering $961,084, while June was an equally paltry $1 million.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
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Yet Plemons imbues him with despair, finding a pitiful fragility in his aggression.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
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Jerry Jeudy has struggled, and the depth behind Jeudy has been pitiful.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Denying people the essentials necessary for their survival, to obtain compliance or a political agreement, should be unacceptable.—
Anna Halford,
Time,
25 Oct. 2025
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Controversy arose earlier this year after residents, a council member and the mayor declared a cooling station set up for homeless residents and others without adequate heating and cooling as unacceptable.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Oct. 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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Cut to Culhane doing lame bits with chopsticks as walrus teeth.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
24 Oct. 2025
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Add in coach Steve Kerr willingly working on a lame-duck contract, and the Warriors could be looking for a new path forward within the year of saying hello to Butler, meaning that smell around Chase Center is one of desperation.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 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 discrepancy has divided voters, stirred up nasty social media exchanges and even inspired an 18-year-old Lakota grad to throw his hat in the district's school board race.—
Grace Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
29 Oct. 2025
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And any school or school district that does try to discriminate, that man right there will probably first send you a nasty gram and then drop the hammer.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Nobody who has even a slight awareness of how the organization does business expected the Ravens to trade multiple Day 1/2 draft picks for a player.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
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Boston has the opportunity to shell out a qualifying offer for the veteran hurler, which would be a slight raise worth roughly $22 million.—
Shaun McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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