paltry
[ pawl-tree ]
/ ˈpɔl tri /
adjective, pal·tri·er, pal·tri·est.
ridiculously or insultingly small: a paltry sum.
utterly worthless.
mean or contemptible: a paltry coward.
RELATED CONTENT
Foxy, Catty, Fishy: Are These Traits For Animals Or Humans?Catty It seems horribly unfair to adorable cats that catty is a human descriptor meaning “devious or spiteful” (and usually in reference to female behavior). What gives? The word cat has been around since the year 700. But then, in the Middle Ages, cat became one of the many offensive terms against women and was slang for “prostitute.” The association might have been made because …
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
palstave, palsy, palsy-walsy, palter, paltrow, paltry, paludal, paludamentum, paludism, paludrine, palustrine
Origin of paltry
SYNONYMS FOR paltry
Related forms
pal·tri·ly, adverbpal·tri·ness, nounun·pal·try, adjectiveCan be confused
paltry poultryDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for paltriness
British Dictionary definitions for paltriness
paltry
/ (ˈpɔːltrɪ) /
adjective -trier or -triest
insignificant; meagre
worthless or petty
Derived Forms
paltrily, adverbpaltriness, nounWord 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