This means they are reducing their interest payments, and the tax-free savings they make will far exceed the paltry returns that savings accounts offer at present.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This means they are reducing their interest payments, and the tax-free savings theymake will far exceed the paltry returns that savings accounts offer at present.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is no justice in a paltry little sentence.
The Sun (2011)
Why is such a paltry sum given?
The Sun (2014)
Voluntary charging deterred the poor and raised paltry sums.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Military figures say these sums are paltry.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Instead a whole load of hard workers cleaned up and got paid a paltry sum.
The Sun (2016)
Fewer still would do so if they had to give up to eight hours of their time for such a paltry return.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
They have taken a paltry two points from their opening three games and only goal difference is keeping them above the relegation zone.
The Sun (2006)
It's easy money with a paltry sentence if they get caught.
The Sun (2016)
Increasing the vast stock of carbon dioxide in the ocean by one percent reduces the relatively paltry amount in the atmosphere by half.
Oliver Morton Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet (2007)
The burglars he caught stealing from him received paltry 75 fines.
The Sun (2014)
It was a paltry, pallid return.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He was fined a paltry 5,000 by the organisers.
The Sun (2011)
It is a paltry return compared to the 34 he notched up in total last year.
The Sun (2011)
The returns on cash on deposit are paltry; the returns on printers of cash are somewhat better.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
WHAT is the point of paltry sentences given to benefits fraudsters?
The Sun (2013)
I complained about this paltry amount but have not had a reply.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
A third are either let off with a conditional discharge or given a paltry fine.
The Sun (2014)
Her eight-year jail sentence seems paltry.
The Sun (2012)
If the government wins, it will fuel the mounting disquiet over the relatively paltry payments some soldiers are receiving for lifelong injuries.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He said he had no choice but to give him the paltry sentence after the case took 18 months to get to court.
The Sun (2013)
But the daily quota of three litres is a paltry amount in a city as huge as Tehran which has poor public transport.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
And they have managed a paltry four points from 20 top-flight away games since then.
The Sun (2008)
They know that the nation's supposedly strict privacy laws are no deterrent, when paltry fines are more than paid for by boosted sales.
The Sun (2012)
In other languages
paltry
British English: paltry ADJECTIVE
A paltry amount of money or of something else is one that you consider to be very small.
...a paltry fine.
American English: paltry
Brazilian Portuguese: irrisório
Chinese: 微小的
European Spanish: insignificante
French: dérisoire
German: armselig
Italian: derisorio
Japanese: 微々たる
Korean: 하찮은
European Portuguese: irrisório
Latin American Spanish: insignificante
1 (adjective)
Definition
insignificant
He was fined the paltry sum of $50.
Synonyms
meagre
a meagre 3% pay rise
petty
Rows would start over petty things.
trivial
I don't like to visit the doctor just for something trivial.
trifling
The guests had each paid £250, no trifling sum.
beggarly
derisory
measly (informal)
The average bathroom measures a measly 3.5 metres.
piddling (informal)
arguing over piddling amounts of money
inconsiderable
He was a man of great charm and not inconsiderable wit.
Opposites
considerable
,
valuable
2 (adjective)
Definition
insignificant
She had no interest in such paltry concerns.
Synonyms
insignificant
In 1949 it was still a small, insignificant city.
trivial
worthless
Training is worthless unless there is proof that it works.
unimportant
It was an unimportant job, and paid very little.
small
No detail was too small to escape her attention.
low
They are having to live on very low incomes.
base
minor
She is known for a number of minor roles in films.
slight
It's only made a slight difference.
petty
trifling
Mickey Mouse (slang)
piddling (informal)
toytown (slang)
poxy (slang)
nickel-and-dime (US, slang)
picayune (US)
chickenshit (US, slang)
twopenny-halfpenny (British, informal)
Opposites
major
,
important
,
grand
,
significant
,
essential
,
consequential
Additional synonyms
in the sense of base
Synonyms
inferior,
mean,
low,
poor,
sorry,
miserable,
worthless,
lowly,
paltry,
pitiful,
grovelling,
menial,
subservient,
downtrodden,
wretched,
servile,
slavish
in the sense of inconsiderable
Definition
not worth considering
He was a man of great charm and not inconsiderable wit.
Synonyms
insignificant,
small,
slight,
light,
minor,
petty,
trivial,
trifling,
negligible,
unimportant,
small-time (informal),
inconsequential,
exiguous
in the sense of low
Definition
(of numbers) small
They are having to live on very low incomes.
Synonyms
meagre,
little,
small,
reduced,
depleted,
scant,
trifling,
insignificant,
sparse,
paltry,
measly (informal)
Nearby words of
paltry
palmy
palpable
palpitate
paltry
pamper
pamphlet
pan
Synonyms of 'paltry'
paltry
Explore 'paltry' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of measly
Definition
too small in quantity or value
The average bathroom measures a measly 3.5 metres.
Synonyms
meagre,
miserable,
pathetic,
paltry,
mean,
poor,
petty,
beggarly,
pitiful,
skimpy,
puny,
stingy,
contemptible,
scanty,
miserly,
niggardly,
ungenerous,
mingy (British, informal),
snoep (South Africa, informal)
in the sense of minor
Definition
not very serious or significant
She is known for a number of minor roles in films.
Synonyms
small,
lesser,
subordinate,
smaller,
light,
slight,
secondary,
petty,
inferior,
trivial,
trifling,
insignificant,
negligible,
unimportant,
paltry,
inconsequential,
inconsiderable,
nickel-and-dime (US, slang)
in the sense of petty
Definition
trivial or unimportant
Rows would start over petty things.
Synonyms
trivial,
inferior,
insignificant,
little,
small,
slight,
trifling,
negligible,
unimportant,
paltry,
measly (informal),
contemptible,
piddling (informal),
inconsiderable,
inessential,
nickel-and-dime (US, slang)
in the sense of piddling
Definition
petty or trivial
arguing over piddling amounts of money
Synonyms
trivial,
little,
petty,
worthless,
insignificant,
pants (informal),
useless,
fiddling,
trifling,
unimportant,
paltry,
Mickey Mouse (slang),
puny,
derisory,
measly (informal),
crappy (slang),
toytown (slang),
piffling,
poxy (slang),
nickel-and-dime (US, slang),
wanky (taboo, slang),
chickenshit (US, slang)
in the sense of slight
Definition
not very important or lacking in substance
It's only made a slight difference.
Synonyms
small,
minor,
insignificant,
negligible,
weak,
modest,
trivial,
superficial,
feeble,
trifling,
meagre,
unimportant,
paltry,
measly (informal),
insubstantial,
scanty,
inconsiderable
in the sense of small
Definition
unimportant or trivial
No detail was too small to escape her attention.
Synonyms
unimportant,
minor,
trivial,
insignificant,
little,
lesser,
petty,
trifling,
negligible,
paltry,
piddling (informal)
in the sense of trifling
Definition
insignificant, petty, or frivolous
The guests had each paid £250, no trifling sum.
Synonyms
insignificant,
small,
tiny,
empty,
slight,
silly,
shallow,
petty,
idle,
trivial,
worthless,
negligible,
unimportant,
frivolous,
paltry,
minuscule,
puny,
measly,
piddling (informal),
inconsiderable,
valueless,
nickel-and-dime (US, slang),
footling (informal)
in the sense of trivial
Definition
of little importance
I don't like to visit the doctor just for something trivial.
Synonyms
unimportant,
little,
small,
minor,
slight,
everyday,
petty,
meaningless,
commonplace,
worthless,
trifling,
insignificant,
negligible,
frivolous,
paltry,
incidental,
puny,
inconsequential,
trite,
inconsiderable,
valueless,
nickel-and-dime (US, slang),
wanky (taboo, slang),
chickenshit (US, slang)
in the sense of unimportant
Definition
trivial or insignificant
It was an unimportant job, and paid very little.
Synonyms
insignificant,
minor,
petty,
trivial,
slight,
irrelevant,
worthless,
trifling,
paltry,
immaterial,
inconsequential,
low-ranking,
of no consequence,
nickel-and-dime (US, slang),
of no account,
nugatory,
not worth mentioning,
of no moment
in the sense of worthless
Definition
without value or usefulness
Training is worthless unless there is proof that it works.