Puny

/ˈpjuːni/ · adjective

Meaning

Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak..

Definitions by Sense

1. Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak.
2. (chiefly Southern US, south Midland US) (Frequently) ill; poorly, sickly.
3. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of puisne.
4. (archaic) An inferior person; a subordinate; also, an insignificant person.
5. A younger person; a junior.
6. Alternative spelling of puisne.
7. A new student at a school, university, the Inns of Court, etc.; a junior.

Example Sentences

You puny earthlings are no match for Ming the Merciless!

I had forgot my ſelfe, am I not King? […] Is not the Kings name twenty thouſand names? / Arme arme, my name a puny ſubiect ſtrikes, / At thy great glorie, […]

And twentie of theſe punie lies Ile tell, / That men ſhall ſweare I haue diſcontinued ſchoole / About a twelue moneth: […]

How ſhould puny ſcribblers be abaſhed and diſappointed, when they find him diſplaying a perfect theory of lexicographical excellence, yet at the ſame time candidly and modeſtly allowing that he "had not ſatisfied his own expectations."

[W]e dart / O'er wave or field: yet breezes laugh to scorn // Our puny speed, […]

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[T]hou chuff, thou puny, thou got in the peasestraw thou losel, thou chitterling, thou spawn of a rebel, thou dykedropt, […]

[A] law that the eldeſt or firſt-borne child ſhall ſucceede and inherite all: where nothing is reſerved for punies, but obedience: […] Theſe vaine ſhadowes of our religion, which are ſeene in ſome of theſe examples, witnes the dignitie and divinity thereof.

Synonyms for puny

Antonyms for puny

Related Words

Word Forms

• punier
• puniest
• punies

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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