Definition of MEASLY

measly

Adjective Satellite

  • contemptibly small in amount
    • "a measly tip"

Adj

  • Particularly of pigs or pork: infected with larval tapeworms or trichinae (parasitic roundworms).
  • Of a person: infected with measles.
  • Small (especially contemptibly small) in amount.

Adjective

  • Contemptibly small or meager; insignificant.

Examples

  • For one whole day's work all I was given was twenty measly pounds.
  • His final score was a MEASLY 50 points, proving he needed more Scrabble practice.

Origin / Etymology

From measle (“singular of measles”) + -y; the word measle is either from Middle Dutch masel (“a blister filled with blood; a pustule, a skin blemish”), or Middle Low German masel (“a red skin blemish”), from Proto-Germanic *masuraz (“a knot or scar in wood; a knarl”), from *mas-, *mēs- (“a spot; a sore; a scar”), from Proto-Indo-European *mos- (“a skin sore”).

Scrabble Score: 11

measly: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
measly: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
measly: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

measly: valid Words With Friends Word