measly
pronunciation
How to pronounce measly in British English:
UK [ˈmiːzli]
How to pronounce measly in American English:
US [ˈmiːzli]
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- Adjective:
- contemptibly small in amount
Word Origin
- measly (adj.)
- "affected with measles," 1680s, from measle (see measles) + -y (2); sense of "meager and contemptible" first recorded 1864 in British slang.
Example
- 1. As the graph below shows , those budgets are often quite measly .
- 2. But most clients are not ready for the measly returns .
- 3. But growth is measly , below even the 1.5 % the government forecast .
- 4. Averaged over the past four decades , the net profit margin of the world 's airlines , taken together , has been a measly 0.1 % .
- 5. He estimates that local stock markets currently make up , by value , a measly 1 per cent of the combined value of the world 's equities ( as measured by the msci index ) yet china already comprises 6.9 per cent of global gdp .