puny

[pyoo-nee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puny ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, pu·ni·er, pu·ni·est.

of less than normal size and strength; weak.

unimportant; insignificant; petty or minor: a puny excuse.

Obsolete. puisne.

Origin of puny

First recorded in 1540–50; spelling variant of puisne

Related formspu·ni·ly, adverbpu·ni·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for puny

paltry, measly, inconsequential, tiny, frail, trivial, feeble, diminutive, fragile, inferior, infirm, little, minor, niggling, nothing, peanut, petty, picayune, piddling, runt

Examples from the Web for puny

Contemporary Examples of puny

In the end, Shumlin led by a puny 2,434 votes, less than the 50 percent margin needed for victory under Vermont law.
What the Hell Happened in Vermont?!
Stuart Stevens
November 13, 2014
Complete and utter accident of fate, the puny matter of his voter enrollment.
Republicans Are Racists? No, It’s Just All a Big Coincidence
Michael Tomasky
April 25, 2014
But his standing in opinion polls is puny, and he has been targeted by Sarah Palin.
Why Obama's Still Untouchable in 2012
Jack W. Germond
June 9, 2011
Mighty NATO rains down bombs and bullets on Gaddafi's puny forces, but can't score a knockout.
How Libya Saps America's Power
Leslie H. Gelb
April 17, 2011

Historical Examples of puny

I am ashamed to kill such a puny little dwarf as you seem to be.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Pardon me for inserting these puny details in what I have to say.
The Old Game
Samuel G. Blythe
Even we puny creatures can divine something of their birth and death.
Mountain Meditations
L. Lind-af-Hageby
Beauchene asked her as he looked at the pale, puny child on her arm.
Fruitfulness
Emile Zola
What could man's law—his proud but puny morality—do to injure her?
The Woman Thou Gavest Me
Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for puny

puny

adjective -nier or -niest

having a small physique or weakly constitution

paltry; insignificant

Derived Formspunily, adverbpuniness, noun

Word Origin for puny

C16: from Old French puisne puisne

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 puny

adj.

1570s, "inferior in rank" (1540s as a noun, "junior pupil, freshman"), from Middle French puisné (Modern French puîné), from Old French puisne "born later, younger, youngest" (12c., contrasted with aisné "first-born"), from puis nez, from puis "afterward" (from Vulgar Latin *postius, from Latin postea "after this, hereafter," from post "after," see post-, + ea "there") + Old French né "born," from Latin natus, past participle of nasci "be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Sense of "small, weak, insignificant" first recorded 1590s. Cf. puisne. Related: Puniness.