as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
offered her guest only one measly cookie
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Recent Examples of measly
On the other end, Chicago only has a 34% chance of snow while New Yorkers have a measly 13% chance of a white Christmas this year.
—
Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
The Preds have the worst record in the entire league, with a measly 20 points.
—Nate Rau, Axios, 13 Dec. 2024
The Jonathan that Nancy brought to the page no longer exists; neither does her version of Catherine — a femme fatale conjured from a measly roll of boudoir photos.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
That's down from last year's record-setting $12.2 billion, but way up from the measly $7-$9 billion Americans spent between 2014-2020.
—Karri Peifer, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for measly
Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
The Preds have the worst record in the entire league, with a measly 20 points.
—Nate Rau, Axios, 13 Dec. 2024
The Jonathan that Nancy brought to the page no longer exists; neither does her version of Catherine — a femme fatale conjured from a measly roll of boudoir photos.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
That's down from last year's record-setting $12.2 billion, but way up from the measly $7-$9 billion Americans spent between 2014-2020.
—Karri Peifer, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for measly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for measly
Adjective
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Recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump says Musk heads despite another nominal administrator, led to firing tens of thousands of workers and targeted more.—
Joey Garrison,
USA TODAY,
9 Mar. 2025
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The exposures listed on the initial holdings list do add up to more than 100%, with nominal bonds as the biggest category.—
Jesse Pound,
CNBC,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Freud’s notion of remembering, the inexact reiteration of what came before, is where creativity emerges—that slight drift from the original that lets something unlikely slip in.—
Namwali Serpell,
The New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2025
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The bill released Saturday will fund the government through Sept. 30 and provide a slight boost to defense spending while making a moderate cut to non-defense programs.—
Deirdre Walsh,
NPR,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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For those who need fast storage on the go, the Samsung Portable T7 SSD is tiny, secure, and now 25% off!—
Shubham Yewale,
PCMAG,
5 Mar. 2025
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The indie retailer is partnering up with Mattel to debut a limited-edition line of clothing and accessories inspired by the tiny doll.—
Hannah Malach,
WWD,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Rodgers didn't have a terrible year per se, but the Jets ended the season with a paltry 5-12 record.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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The Namib desert is thought of as the only true desert in southern Africa due to its limited annual rainfall, a paltry 2-200 milliliters a year.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Measly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/measly. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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