paltry

[ pawl-tree ]
/ ˈpɔl tri /
SEE 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.

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Origin of paltry

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

OTHER WORDS FROM paltry

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH paltry

paltry poultry

Words nearby paltry

palstave, palsy, palsy-walsy, palter, paltrow, paltry, paludal, paludamentum, paludism, paludrine, palustrine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to paltry

measly, insignificant, meager, miserable, pitiful, trivial, puny, base, beggarly, cheap, common, contemptible, despicable, ineffectual, limited, low, mean, minor, narrow, petty

Example sentences from the Web for paltry

British Dictionary definitions for paltry

paltry
/ (ˈpɔːltrɪ) /

adjective -trier or -triest

insignificant; meagre
worthless or petty

Derived forms of paltry

paltrily, 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