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paltry

paltry

22 7.1
Very small and not important, not worth paying attention to
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɔltri/
translation icon : insignificante
  • Despite their hard work, they received a paltry reward that hardly acknowledged their contributions.
  • paltry amount
  • paltry 3.2 percent
  • paltry sum

The great Irish poet William Butler Yeats said an aged man is but a paltry thing.

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Examples

  • Could we have got by over the years on his paltry earnings?

  • Considering the DoD's half a trillion dollar budget, $200 million seems like a paltry sum.

    Academic text (2017)
  • We spend a paltry amount of money in this country on basic research in the energy field.

  • But our collective heart was broken by the paltry return we made on our investment in advertising.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I had no investments beyond the paltry sum in my savings account.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The pension amount is paltry, ranging from Rs30 to Rs60 per month.

    Academic text (1998)
  • In 1994, for example, bilateral trade with Russia amounted to a paltry 0.7 percent of Japan's trade turnover.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The company's paltry budget for employee training left many workers feeling unsupported.

  • His paltry efforts in the project did not impress the team leaders.

Synonyms

mere
vspaltry
414 3.4

Showing that something is only small and not important

uses that smallness to argue the thing is not worth attention
mean
vspaltry
65 4.7

Poor and in bad condition with little value

narrows that idea to being specifically unimportant and not worth attention
puny
vspaltry
56 3.4

Very small and weak, not impressive

focuses on lack of importance rather than physical smallness or weakness
miserable
vspaltry
50 2.8

A very small amount or poor quality

highlights unimportance more than the extreme poor condition
meager
vspaltry
  • US
48 4.8

Too small in amount or quality to be enough

highlights unimportance rather than the idea of scarcity or poor quality
negligible
vspaltry
31 5.6

Very small or unimportant and not worth worrying about

is the same idea stated in the key with identical worthlessness
scant
vspaltry
30 5.5

A small amount that is barely enough

treats the small amount as insignificant rather than merely inadequate
measly
vspaltry
  • Informal
29 6.3

Too small to be useful

focuses more on being unimportant rather than merely insufficient
trifling
vspaltry
7 6.6

Very small and not important enough to need attention

expresses the same insignificance but as a stronger negative judgement
skimpy
vspaltry
5 5.3

Too small in amount or size for what is needed

instead frames the short amount as not worth considering
scanty
vspaltry
2 6.6

A small amount or number that is barely enough

casts the same smallness as unimportant rather than just barely sufficient
picayune
vspaltry
  • US
1 9.9

Small and not important

is similar but frames the smallness as generally not worth considering

Antonyms

2.5

Important and big enough to make a difference

526 2.5

Very useful and important, for example advice or skills

How Important

significant
2.5
important
1.0
minor
600 2.4
paltry
22 7.1
negligible
31 5.6

Surface Forms

paltry positive

Etymology

Paltry comes from an old French word paltre that meant 'ragged' or 'worthless' and was used for poor clothes or tiny payments. That's why paltry now describes something very small or not worth much.