puny
56
3.4
- adjective
- /ˈpjuːni/
:
débil
- "The outward work will never be puny," says Meister Eckhardt, "if the inner work is great."
- a puny little
- feel puny
- seem puny
The same crowds in Central Park would look puny and these places carry meaning.
- The same crowds in Central Park would look puny and these places carry meaning.
- If it's somewhat, if it's dinky and small and really puny, maybe it doesn't even taste that great.
- So we look quite like soft and like we're puny.
- I know that my puny little noodle wouldn't be able to do that.
- A restriction that limits him, despite what he may imagine or think, to the fulfilling of a name outside of his own personal, however puny destiny.
- The battles are so brutal because the stakes are so puny and so much of his pettiness and puniness.
Examples
-
On one hand, the breadth of human experience extends far beyond our puny mortal frames.
-
Webs that we weave go beyond their puny little human lives.
-
And he was puny; he had big eyes and a small voice.
Academic text (2009) -
It's less big, it feels puny in comparison.
-
But... we're puny compared to the great clock of the universe.
-
The second fact to explain is the puny size of the metallic iron core of the Moon.
Academic text (2003) -
Still, it sounded awful puny in the vast, cavernous world of night.
Fiction book (1993) -
Cosmic indifference to our puny existence need not be a cause for despair.
Academic text (1999) -
And maybe time does rewrite them into these puny little romances, but I feel sure Miss Chicago noticed me.
Fiction book (1990) -
The puny kitten struggled to climb onto the couch.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Not large in size or amount
58
8.1
Very small, like a baby mouse
48
4.8
Too small in amount or quality to be enough
29
6.3
Too small to be useful
27
3.7
Not strong or effective in producing results
24
5.7
Lacking strength, courage, or strong flavor
22
7.1
Very small and not important, not worth paying attention to
20
6.8
Very small in size
9
3.9
Not very good or likely to attract attention
6
7.2
Small and not very impressive or valuable
4
7.9
A very small amount or unimportant detail
1
7.8
Smaller and weaker than others of the same kind
1
7.2
Much smaller than what is normal or expected
1
7.7
A person who is smaller and thinner than others
So small that you can hardly see it
Antonyms
584
3.4
Causing people to admire it, like a building or performance, because it is very good
How Strong
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word puny comes from an old French word that meant 'later-born' or 'younger', like the legal word puisne. Because 'younger' often meant lower in rank or size, puny came to mean 'small and weak'.