puny
pu·ny/ˈpjuni/adjective
puny is spelled P-U-N-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables (pu·ny). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, puny means “Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in puny?
| Letters | 4: P-U-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pu·ny |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is puny?
Puny appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce puny?
- UK /ˈpjuːni/
- US /ˈpjuni/
Puny has 2 syllables, split pu·ny in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-puny.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with puny
Sounds like: puisne (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with puny?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as puny from its last stressed vowel (/uni/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of puny
- punier comparative
- puniest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does puny mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak.
You puny earthlings are no match for Ming the Merciless!
- 2
(Frequently) ill; poorly, sickly.
- 3
obsoleteInferior in rank; specifically, of a judge: junior.
- 4
obsoleteComing later in time; secondary, subsequent.
- 5
obsoleteNot experienced; novice.
noun
- 1
archaicAn inferior person; a subordinate; also, an insignificant person.
·
- 2
obsoleteA younger person; a junior.
- 3
obsoleteA person who is not experienced; a beginner, a novice.
- 4
obsoleteA puisne or junior judge.
- 5
obsoleteA new student at a school, university, the Inns of Court, etc.; a junior.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Puny in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of inferior size – see also small:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chétif, frêle |
| German | kläglich, klein, kümmerlich, mickrig, schwächlich |
| Portuguese | fraco, franzino, pequeno |
| Spanish | flojo, gualtrapas, tirillas |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.