Tuesday word: Puny
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1word1dayTuesday, May 12, 2026
Puny (adjective)
puny [pyoo-nee]
adjective, punier, puniest
1. of less than normal size and strength; weak.
2. unimportant; insignificant; petty or minor: a puny excuse.
3. Obsolete. puisne.
Other Word Forms
punily, adverb
puniness, noun
Related Words
feeble, frail, inconsequential, measly, paltry, tiny, trivial
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Origin: First recorded in 1540–50; spelling variant of puisne
Example Sentences
Puny mountains would have slowed erosion of the planet’s rocks, limiting the supply of life-giving nutrients for creatures in the oceans.
From National Geographic • Feb. 11, 2021
“Nobody moves away from Winnipeg, especially to Toronto, and escapes condemnation,” she wrote, in “All My Puny Sorrows,” her novel about her sister’s illness and death.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 18, 2019
Not to mention the shabby way he treated the loyal Bob Hobbitt, whose ailing little son, Puny Pete, longed to leave life as a cabin boy for a career as a seamstress.
From New York Times • Dec. 25, 2014
The greatness in "All My Puny Sorrows" comes from Toews' ability to make the reader want to think about that too.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2014
Hallblithe stood speechless a moment, looking past the Puny Fox, rather than at him.
From The Story of the Glittering Plain; or, the land of Living Men by Morris, William
Puny (adjective)
puny [pyoo-nee]
adjective, punier, puniest
1. of less than normal size and strength; weak.
2. unimportant; insignificant; petty or minor: a puny excuse.
3. Obsolete. puisne.
Other Word Forms
punily, adverb
puniness, noun
Related Words
feeble, frail, inconsequential, measly, paltry, tiny, trivial
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Origin: First recorded in 1540–50; spelling variant of puisne
Example Sentences
Puny mountains would have slowed erosion of the planet’s rocks, limiting the supply of life-giving nutrients for creatures in the oceans.
From National Geographic • Feb. 11, 2021
“Nobody moves away from Winnipeg, especially to Toronto, and escapes condemnation,” she wrote, in “All My Puny Sorrows,” her novel about her sister’s illness and death.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 18, 2019
Not to mention the shabby way he treated the loyal Bob Hobbitt, whose ailing little son, Puny Pete, longed to leave life as a cabin boy for a career as a seamstress.
From New York Times • Dec. 25, 2014
The greatness in "All My Puny Sorrows" comes from Toews' ability to make the reader want to think about that too.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2014
Hallblithe stood speechless a moment, looking past the Puny Fox, rather than at him.
From The Story of the Glittering Plain; or, the land of Living Men by Morris, William
