different between shameful vs paltry

English

Etymology

From Middle English schameful, schamfull, from Old English *s?eamfull, s?eomfull, equivalent to shame +? -ful. Cognate with Danish skamfuld (“shameful, shamefast, ashamed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??e?mf?l/

Adjective

shameful (comparative more shameful, superlative most shameful)

1. Causing or meriting shame or disgrace; disgraceful
   • 2009 February 19, Gareth Lewis, Southern Daily Echo:

     "They have turned a great old English institution into a shameful clip-joint. It's a shuddering, howling tragedy."

2. Giving offense.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:despicable

Derived terms

• shamefully
• shamefulness

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) paultry, paultrie, palterey

Etymology

From Middle Low German paltrig (“ragged, rubbishy, worthless”), from palter, palte (“cloth, rag, shred”), from Old Saxon *paltro, *palto (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Germanic *paltrô, *paltô (“scrap, rag, patch”). Cognate with Low German palterig (“ragged, torn”), dialectal German palterig (“paltry”). Compare also Low German palte (“rag”), West Frisian palt (“rag”), Saterland Frisian Palte (“strip; band; tape”), dialectal German Palter (“rag”), Danish pjalt (“rag, tatter”), Swedish palta (“rag”). See also palterly.

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /?p?lt?i/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p?lt?i/, /?p??lt?i/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?p?lt?i/, /?p?lt?i/

Adjective

paltry (comparative paltrier, superlative paltriest)

1. Trashy, trivial, of little value.

   Synonyms: insignificant, unimportant, petty, trivial
2. Of little monetary worth.

   Synonyms: meager, worthless, pitiful, trifling
3. Despicable

   A paltry coward.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "paltry" is often applied: sum, rate, amount, number, price, salary, wages, fellow, pay, excuse, income, gain, compensation.

Derived terms

• paltriness

Translations

Anagrams

• partly, raptly