adjective

puny

PYOO-nee/ˈpjuːni/

Very small or weak.

The puny carrot looks thin and shriveled beside the robust roots.

A puny carrot beside two robust carrots: its tiny, pencil-thin, slightly shriveled root looks conspicuously small and unimpressive against the thick, full-sized roots.

Etymology

‘Born afterward’ originally described a younger child and came to suggest junior or inferior standing. That idea of inferiority shifted to size and strength, producing the sense ‘small or weak.’

In context

Luke Smith75:10

if i put my feet up looks like looks like my feet are enormous and the rest of my body is like puny

Luke Smith Livestream

More examples

Our puny flashlight barely lights the path ahead.
This sapling looks puny beside the old oak.
The smallest puppy is even punier than its siblings.

Forms

puny · punier · puniest

puniness noun — The state of being small or weak.

Similar words

tiny: Tiny emphasizes small size without necessarily suggesting physical weakness.
weak: Weak emphasizes a lack of strength rather than small size.
scrawny: Scrawny describes an unattractively thin body, often suggesting weakness.