paltriness

pal·try

 (pôl′trē)

adj. pal·tri·er, pal·tri·est

1. Lacking in importance or worth. See Synonyms at trivial.

2. Very small or inadequate in amount; negligible: was paid a paltry sum for his work.

3. Marked by meanness or lack of generosity; contemptible: "I would far rather burn my whole book, than that he or any other man should think that I had behaved in a paltry spirit" (Charles Darwin).

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[Probably from obsolete and dialectal paltry, trash, perhaps from Low German paltrig, ragged, from palte, rag.]

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pal′tri·ly adv.

pal′tri·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

paltriness - worthlessness due to insignificance sorriness worthlessness, ineptitude - having no qualities that would render it valuable or useful; "the drill sergeant's intent was to convince all the recruits of their worthlessness"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

paltriness

noun

Contemptible unimportance:

inconsiderableness, negligibility, negligibleness, pettiness, smallness, triviality, trivialness.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

paltriness

n → Armseligkeit f, → Schäbigkeit f; (of reason) → Unbedeutendheit f, → Geringfügigkeit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007