Definition

Adjective: 1. Contemptibly small or inadequate in amount, size, or value: Describes something so small or paltry that it is considered worthless, laughable, or deserving of scorn.

Usage and Examples

The word "measly" is used to express strong disapproval, disappointment, or contempt for a quantity or quality that is perceived as insultingly insufficient.

Advanced Usage and Nuance

• Emphatic Disparagement: "Measly" is inherently emphatic and informal. It is not a neutral descriptor of smallness but carries a strong emotional judgment of inadequacy.
• Comparative Form: While less common, the comparative "measlier" and superlative "measliest" can be used for hyperbolic effect.
  • The first offer was bad, but the second one was even measlier.

Variants and Related Words

• Measled (Adjective, archaic): Afflicted with measles. (This is the original, now largely obsolete, medical meaning from which the modern figurative sense of "measly" is derived.)
• Measliness (Noun, rare): The state or quality of being measly.

Synonyms

• Paltry: Small and insignificant.
• Miserable: Pathetically small or inadequate.
• Pitiful: Deserving or arousing pity due to smallness or poor quality.
• Meager: Lacking in quantity or richness.
• Derisory: So small or insignificant as to be laughable.

Antonyms

• Substantial
• Generous
• Adequate
• Considerable
• Ample

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• A measly [sum/amount/portion]: This is the standard collocation. The word "measly" almost always directly modifies a noun indicating quantity.
  • They paid him a measly sum for all his hard work.

Adjective

1. contemptibly small in amount
   • a measly tip
   • the company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief
   • a paltry wage
   • almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans