paltry.

So small, meager, or inferior as to seem scarcely worth considering.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a paltry sum
• a paltry excuse

On the page

The paltry compensation would not replace even the lost tools.

A paltry excuse separated his public apology from the truth.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more paltry; superlative most paltry where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.