Vanessa Feltz
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Before "paltry" was an adjective, it was a noun meaning "trash." That now obsolete noun in turn came from "palt" or "pelt," dialect terms meaning "a piece of coarse cloth," or broadly, "trash." The adjective "paltry" first meant "trashy," but currently has a number of senses, all generally meaning "no good." A "paltry house" might be run-down and unfit for occupancy; a "paltry trick" is a trick that is low-down and dirty; a "paltry excuse" is a trivial one; and a "paltry sum" is small and insufficient.
Synonyms
Examples of paltry in a Sentence
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Due to sparse funding and a paltry 3,000 soldiers trying to stand against Britain’s formidable forces, the Continental Congress was running out of options.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Truth Social, in contrast, is notable for the gaping incongruity between its spiking valuation and the paltry reality of its product.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
But the company’s paltry 2023 financial performance soon brought the stock back down to Earth.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
Mocking the exorbitant sums of money the Beatles were being offered to reunite, Michaels held up a hilariously paltry check for just $3,000.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Many of those at immediate risk live in Gaza’s devastated northern regions, which are cut off from the south by Israeli forces and receive only a paltry trickle of the already-meagre aid that’s entering Gaza.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2024
On the other side, with a paltry nine letters, is the argument that reducing risk would lead to more lending because there would be fewer threats to institutions.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 18 Mar. 2024
What paltry water dribbles out from deep beneath the arid earth is salt-laced, cracking their hands and leaving streaks in their clothes.
—Lynsey Addario Victoria Kim, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paltry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near paltry
Cite this Entry
“Paltry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paltry. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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paltry
adjective
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