| Library / English Dictionary |
PALTRY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: paltrier , paltriest
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Contemptibly small in amount
Example:
almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
meager; meagerly; meagre; scrimpy; stingy (deficient in amount or quality or extent)
Derivation:
paltriness (worthlessness due to insignificance)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Not worth considering
Example:
a trifling matter
Synonyms:
negligible; paltry; trifling
Classified under:
Similar:
worthless (lacking in usefulness or value)
Derivation:
paltriness (worthlessness due to insignificance)
Context examples:
When I first tried to write, I had nothing to write about except a few paltry experiences which I neither understood nor appreciated.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
“You are much mistaken if you expect to influence me by such a paltry attack as this. I see nothing in it but your own wilful ignorance and the malice of Mr. Darcy.”
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
There was something paltry about it, after all.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
I'd never get beyond a clerkship, and how could you and I be happy on the paltry earnings of a clerk?
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Nothing paltry nor vulgar.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
