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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of measly
What was she supposed to do after that, write a bunch of measly recipes?
—
Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2025
Northwestern had 150 total yards and 10 points in the first quarter, while Minnesota had five measly yards and zero points.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 22 Nov. 2025
One time, the entrepreneurial pair were at a McDonald’s in Hong Kong, and Gates recalled laughing when Buffett offered to foot the measly bill, pulling coupons out of his pocket.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
Expanding the Mac mini M4’s storage beyond the measly base 256GB SSD is eye-watering.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for measly
Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2025
Northwestern had 150 total yards and 10 points in the first quarter, while Minnesota had five measly yards and zero points.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 22 Nov. 2025
One time, the entrepreneurial pair were at a McDonald’s in Hong Kong, and Gates recalled laughing when Buffett offered to foot the measly bill, pulling coupons out of his pocket.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
Expanding the Mac mini M4’s storage beyond the measly base 256GB SSD is eye-watering.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for measly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for measly
Adjective
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Because a present that is over $100, Miss Manner assures you, is indeed meant for a wedding and not a shower, whose gifts are supposed to be more nominal.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
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In an alternative scenario, the cap would stay fixed in nominal dollar terms, in our examples at $100,000 or $70,000 sans bumps for the CPI, for 20 or 30 years, and after those intervals grow in tandem with wages.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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UConn came into the game as a slight underdog despite having beaten the Illini by 13 points at Madison Square Garden back in November.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
5 Apr. 2026
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Black One and Monoliths & Dimensions maintain a slight distance from the listener with a layer of reverb that softens the bone-crushing power of the guitars.—
Daniel Bromfield,
Pitchfork,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Its tulle is brittle and sharp, brushing against my fur like a thousand tiny teeth, a cruel lover that bites with every move.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
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The astronauts' cells have been placed on tiny chips and distributed throughout the capsule in an effort to understand these effects in greater detail.—
Brendan Byrne,
NPR,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Charlotte Hornets are now just 10 games away from the end of their regular season on April 12, which in recent seasons has meant that the crowds are paltry, the team is irrelevant and everyone is just ready to get the slog over with.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Mar. 2026
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But the frequency with which these scams are occurring — spurred by the ease of making and disseminating AI music — suggests scammers aren’t exactly deterred by paltry royalty payouts.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Measly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/measly. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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