poor-spirited
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of poor-spirited
First recorded in 1655–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the poor in spirit are not the poor-spirited.
From Mornings in the College Chapel Short Addresses to Young Men on Personal Religion by Peabody, Francis Greenwood
The most poor-spirited governess expects to keep her pupils in their classroom during school hours, even though she may not be able to exercise control over them while they are there.
From A Fourth Form Friendship A School Story by Brazil, Angela
Would she not say to him scornfully: "I only wanted to see if you really were such a helpless, poor-spirited fool"?
From The Breaking of the Storm, Vol. I. by Spielhagen, Friedrich
But his poor-spirited behavior wearied even Alexander, who, willing at the outset to atone for desertion by intervention, became toward the end very cold.
From The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Vol. III. (of IV.) by Sloane, William Milligan
Anyway, the mixture of painting and embroidery is not to be endured; and it is a poor-spirited embroidress who will thus confess her weakness and call on painting to help her out.
From Art in Needlework A Book about Embroidery by Buckle, Mary
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
