Paltryness

Paltryness refers to the state or quality of being insignificant, trivial, or utterly lacking in worth or importance. It describes something that is meager in amount, value, or consequence, often eliciting a sense of contempt or dismissal due to its diminutive nature. It can apply to finances, possessions, actions, or even emotions, highlighting a disappointing shortfall or insufficiency. The term emphasizes a noticeable absence of anything substantial or admirable, leaving a feeling of disappointment or dissatisfaction. Paltryness implies a degree of inadequacy, rendering the subject matter almost inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, often causing a lack of appreciation or disregard from an external observer. It indicates a noticeable deficiency, often underscoring a disappointing contrast to expectations or standards.

Paltryness meaning with examples

• Despite her grand ambitions, the results of her project revealed a disheartening paltriness. The findings were statistically insignificant and offered nothing new. The research team quickly realized the funding was wasted. The data's paltriness was immediately obvious, with little to no relevance to the subject, making her findings nearly worthless and irrelevant.
• The charity received donations that were frankly shocking in their paltriness. A noticeable disparity was evident. Few people contributed. There was a palpable lack of genuine compassion. The donations were not going to help, causing severe strain for those involved. It would be a long time before the charity raised what they needed to survive.
• His apology was delivered with such paltriness that it felt more like an insult. There was no remorse. No real contrition. His words lacked genuine feeling. The briefness and perfunctory nature of the words made the receiver feel worse. The paltriness was hard to overlook and made things worse instead of better.
• The benefits offered by the company's insurance plan were exposed to be of paltriness after a major life incident. The medical coverage offered was inadequate. The payout was nominal. The employee quickly became dissatisfied, and their lack of health coverage was a constant worry. The paltriness left employees to feel unsupported and unprotected.
• The critic described the actor's performance as an exercise in paltriness, devoid of genuine emotion or skill. His scenes offered nothing of substance. The role was performed with no effort. The audience was dissatisfied. The paltriness of the acting made the entire play less watchable and a waste of time. It lacked any depth.