1
as in pitiful
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
a paltry, underhanded scheme to get someone fired
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paltry
Saddled with higher interest rates on their bonds, people in poor cities and towns today pay double the amount in property taxes, often suffer higher home-foreclosure rates, and wield paltrier education budgets compared with their wealthier counterparts.
—
Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, independent artists have spent years expressing their frustrations with the paltry payouts of most DSPs.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2025
But those refunds were relatively paltry.
—Erin Doherty, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025
First monthly job losses in five years With the monthly revisions, standard operating procedure by the way, July’s paltry number of 22,000 jobs created was overshadowed by June’s new status as the first month since December 2020 showing a loss.
—Eli Amdur, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, independent artists have spent years expressing their frustrations with the paltry payouts of most DSPs.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2025
But those refunds were relatively paltry.
—Erin Doherty, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025
First monthly job losses in five years With the monthly revisions, standard operating procedure by the way, July’s paltry number of 22,000 jobs created was overshadowed by June’s new status as the first month since December 2020 showing a loss.
—Eli Amdur, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paltry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paltry
Adjective
-
Mercy came via a bye week, the pitiful Raiders and an inept Cowboys defense.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Writer-director Craig Brewer resists the temptation to make Mike and Claire in any way pitiful or worthy of derision.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
These actions, coupled with her own words, reveal an unacceptable disdain for our constitutional system of checks and balances.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
How heartbreaking, and how vile, that any adult claiming compassion would seek to imbue a child with that extreme allergy to their own self.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The Diary again casts its eye far and wide for news, any news, that might distract us all from the vile toxicity emanating from Washington—make that Davos.—
Chop Choppish Shop,
Air Mail,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Austin Public trains those producers, who, for a nominal fee, gain access to state-of-the-art equipment, studio space and content distribution for their own work.—
Matthew Odam,
Austin American Statesman,
29 Dec. 2025
-
Academic users will be able to access the platform for a nominal fee, while biotech and pharmaceutical companies are charged an annual subscription, which gives them the right to store their data securely, as well as a relatively low per-use charge.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
18 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Gavin Newsom is officially a lame-duck governor, and his final year in office seems increasingly focused on an almost certain campaign for the White House.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Gavin Newsom is officially a lame-duck governor, and his final year in office seems increasingly focused on an almost certain campaign for the White House.—
Dan Walters,
Oc Register,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Evening people were 79% more likely to have poor overall heart health compared with those in the intermediate group, the study found.—
Dr. Joseph Wendt,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Audits have identified poor planning, weak oversight, and insufficient monitoring of quality and cost.—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Microsoft took months to fix Remote Desktop disconnection issues, then shipped a Windows Update that wiped out Copilot, and released updates that duplicated the Task Manager and created a nasty system recovery bug.—
Tom Warren,
The Verge,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Those might have increased here because of weak data, like the nasty drop in consumer confidence yesterday, or because of the expectation a new Fed chair will be more dovish.—
Kelly Evans,
CNBC,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Additionally, the Patriots had a slight preference for passing in scoring territory.—
Josh Shepardson,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Fans attending Saturday’s game between the Mavericks and Lakers will notice a slight change in protocol for entering American Airlines Center.—
Mike Curtis,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paltry. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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