Beggarly

adj, adv

adj, adv ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    In the manner of a beggar; poverty-stricken; mean; poor; contemptible.

    "beggarly fellow"

  2. 2
    Fit for a beggar; occasioned by begging.

    "beggarly rags"

  3. 3
    inadequate or meagre. broadly
Adjective
  1. 1
    (used of sums of money) so small in amount as to deserve contempt wordnet
  2. 2
    marked by poverty befitting a beggar wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    In an indigent, mean, or despicable manner; in the manner of a beggar.

Synonyms

All synonyms
poorabjectabominablearrantatrociousbackscratching

Example

More examples

"Ask your own conscience, Sir William, what has prompted you to become a renegade to your political party and opinions, and led you, for what I know, to be on the point of marrying your only daughter to a beggarly Jacobite bankrupt, the inveterate enemy of your family to the boot."

Etymology

From beggar + -ly; adverb via Middle English beggarly, beggerly.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.