paltry

[pawl-tree]

See more synonyms for paltry on Thesaurus.com

adjective, pal·tri·er, pal·tri·est.

ridiculously or insultingly small: a paltry sum.
utterly worthless.
mean or contemptible: a paltry coward.

Origin of paltry

1560–70; < Low German paltrig ragged, equivalent to *palter rag (dialectal German Palter) + -ig -y¹

Related formspal·tri·ly, adverbpal·tri·ness, nounun·pal·try, adjective

Can be confusedpaltry poultry

Synonyms for paltry

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1. minor, inconsiderable, slight, insignificant. See petty.

Antonyms for paltry

1. important, major.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for paltriness

insignificance, irrelevance, triviality

Examples from the Web for paltriness

Historical Examples of paltriness

It is sad that Shakespeare should be credited with the paltriness of lesser men.
William Shakespeare
John Masefield
And Anna had been hurt, had been made miserable, by the paltriness of this fib.
The Benefactress
Elizabeth Beauchamp
How do I know that he will not despise my meanness and paltriness?
Town and Country Sermons
Charles Kingsley
The very shabbiness and paltriness of the fib made Anna's heart yearn over the poor lady.
The Benefactress
Elizabeth Beauchamp
But his Prussian Majesty would not kindle the world for such a paltriness; and so left it hanging in a vexatious condition.
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. X. (of XXI.)
Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for paltriness

paltry

adjective -trier or -triest

insignificant; meagre
worthless or petty

Derived Formspaltrily, adverbpaltriness, noun

Word Origin for paltry

C16: from Low Germanic palter, paltrig ragged

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for paltriness

paltry

adj.

1560s, probably an adjectival use of noun paltry "worthless thing" (1550s), associated with dialectal palt, pelt "trash," cognate with Middle Low German and East Frisian palte "rag," Middle Dutch palt "broken or torn fragment." Cf. Low German paltrig "rubbishy," East Frisian palterig "ragged, torn."