paltry

/ˈpɒltɹi/

//ˈpɒltɹi// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"paltry" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“paltry” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,625. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,625
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Trashy, trivial, of little value.

Corpus desk

Index EN-paltry · paltry · English

paltry · rank #34,625 · 10 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,625
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pars

Nearest frequency peer: pars (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “paltry”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “paltry” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

paltry vs party
67% similar
paltry vs Patty
50% similar
paltry vs parry
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for paltry
PropertyValue
Headwordpaltry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɒltɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#34,625
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “paltry”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).paltrylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pars” (#34,627), “parsing” (#34,628), “outlier” (#34,621). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “paltry” is #34,625. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around paltry (IPA /ˈpɒltɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #34,625 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for paltry, with forms such as "apltry", "palltry", and "palrty". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "party", "Patty", "parry", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle Low German paltrig (“ragged, rubbishy, worthless”), from palter, palte (“cloth, rag, shred”), from Old Saxon *paltro, *palto (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Germanic *paltrô, *paltô (“scrap, rag, patch”). Of uncertain ultimate origin, but perhaps fro… The correct English form is paltry, spelled P-A-L-T-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Trashy, trivial, of little value.
  2. 2
    Of little monetary worth.
  3. 3
    Despicable; contemptibly unimportant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how paltry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This is indeed a paltry flyer about a silly product.
  2. She made some paltry excuse and left.

Etymology

From Middle Low German paltrig (“ragged, rubbishy, worthless”), from palter, palte (“cloth, rag, shred”), from Old Saxon *paltro, *palto (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Germanic *paltrô, *paltô (“scrap, rag, patch”). Of uncertain ultimate origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *polto- (“cloth”), see also Proto-Slavic *poltьno (“linen”). Cognate with Low German palterig (“ragged, torn”), dialectal German palterig (“paltry”). Compare also Low German palte (“rag”), West Frisian palt (“rag”), Saterland Frisian Palte (“strip; band; tape”), dialectal German Palter (“rag”), Danish pjalt (“rag, tatter”), Swedish palta (“rag”). See also palterly and pelting.

This word in other languages

nimio(Español)dérisoire(Français)geringfügig(Deutsch)pobre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apltry
  • palltry
  • palrty
  • paltrry
  • paltryy
  • palttry
  • paltyr
  • patlry
  • platry
  • ppaltry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of paltry - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

apltry2palltry1palrty2paltrry1paltryy1palttry1paltyr2patlry2
Edit distance from "paltry"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "paltry"?
"paltry" is spelled P-A-L-T-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɒltɹi/.
What does "paltry" mean?
As an adjective, "paltry" means: Trashy, trivial, of little value.
What words are commonly confused with "paltry"?
"paltry" is commonly confused with "party", "Patty", "parry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "paltry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "paltry" is /ˈpɒltɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "paltry"?
From Middle Low German paltrig (“ragged, rubbishy, worthless”), from palter, palte (“cloth, rag, shred”), from Old Saxon *paltro, *palto (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Germanic *paltrô, *paltô (“scrap, rag, patch”). Of uncertain ultimate origin, but p... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "paltry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Odisha#34,615pinkie#34,635placer#34,636pronto#34,649

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

notepad10 variantsprecede10 variantspurview10 variantsquicken10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list