puny
adjective
Simple meaning
Of inferior significance, size, or strength.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pyooneeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpjuni
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak.
Inferior in rank; specifically, of a judge: junior.
chiefly Southern USsouth Midland US
(Frequently) ill; poorly, sickly.
Not experienced; novice.
Coming later in time; secondary, subsequent.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak.
Used this way, puny is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.