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LITTLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A small amount or duration
Example:
he accepted the little they gave him
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("little" is a kind of...):
small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context)
Example:
what a nasty little situation
Classified under:
Similar:
emotional (of more than usual emotion)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(informal) small and of little importance
Example:
giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction
Synonyms:
fiddling; footling; lilliputian; little; niggling; petty; picayune; piddling; piffling; trivial
Classified under:
Similar:
unimportant (not important)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Derivation:
littleness (lack of generosity in trifling matters)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
Example:
a little (or small) group
Synonyms:
little; small
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
undersize; undersized (smaller than normal for its kind)
small-scale (created or drawn on a small scale)
smallish (rather small)
littler; smaller (small or little relative to something else)
slender; slim (small in quantity)
puny; runty; shrimpy ((used especially of persons) of inferior size)
pocket-size; pocket-sized; pocketable (small enough to be carried in a garment pocket)
olive-sized (about the size of an olive)
miniscule; minuscule (extremely small)
miniature (being on a very small scale)
micro (extremely small in scale or scope or capability)
microscopic; microscopical (so small as to be invisible without a microscope)
lesser (smaller in size or amount or value)
infinitesimal; minute (infinitely or immeasurably small)
half-size (half the usual or regular size)
gnomish (used of small deformed creatures)
elfin; elflike (small and delicate)
dwarfish (atypically small)
dinky; insignificant (small and unimpressive)
bittie; bitty; itsy-bitsy; itty-bitty; teensy; teensy-weensy; teentsy; teeny; teeny-weeny; wee; weensy; weeny ((used informally) very small)
bantam; diminutive; flyspeck; lilliputian; midget; petite; tiny (very small)
subatomic (of smaller than atomic dimensions)
atomic (immeasurably small)
Attribute:
size (the physical magnitude of something (how big it is))
Antonym:
big (above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent)
Derivation:
littleness (the property of having a relatively small size)
Sense 4
Meaning:
(of a voice) faint
Example:
a still small voice
Synonyms:
little; small
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
soft ((of sound) relatively low in volume)
Derivation:
littleness (the property of having relatively little strength or vigor)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Lowercase
Example:
e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters
Synonyms:
little; minuscule; small
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
lowercase (relating to small (not capitalized) letters that were kept in the lower half of a compositor's type case)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with 'a') at least some
Example:
there's a slight chance it will work
Synonyms:
little; slight
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
small (slight or limited; especially in degree or intensity or scope)
Also:
less ((comparative of 'little' usually used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree)
Antonym:
much ((quantifier used with mass nouns) great in quantity or degree or extent)
Sense 7
Meaning:
(of children and animals) young, immature
Example:
small children
Synonyms:
little; small
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
immature; young ((used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Low in stature; not tall
Example:
a little man
Synonyms:
little; short
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
chunky; dumpy; low-set; squat; squatty; stumpy (short and thick; as e.g. having short legs and heavy musculature)
compact; heavyset; stocky; thick; thickset (having a short and solid form or stature)
half-length (representing only the upper half of the body)
pint-size; pint-sized; runty; sawed-off; sawn-off (well below average height)
short-stalked (of plants having relatively short stalks)
squab; squabby (short and fat)
Also:
low (literal meanings; being at or having a relatively small elevation or upward extension)
Attribute:
height; stature ((of a standing person) the distance from head to foot)
III. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not much
Example:
he talked little about his family
Classified under:
Context examples:
A response indicating that an individual is or was bothered just a little.
(Bothered a Little, NCI Thesaurus)
They want to know everything about the topic and often talk about little else.
(Asperger Syndrome, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Cefsulodin has activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus but little activity against other bacteria.
(Cefsulodin, NCI Thesaurus)
However, we may as well go and sit with them a little while, and when we have that over, we can enjoy our walk.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
The Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q) A sudden urge to urinate with little or no warning?
(OAB-q - Sudden Urge to Urinate with Little or No Warning, NCI Thesaurus)
The Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OAB-q Short Form) A sudden urge to urinate with little or no warning?
(OAB-q Short Form - Sudden Urge to Urinate with Little or No Warning, NCI Thesaurus)
The clinical research that involves testing an approved drug with a well-known adverse event profile, and includes physiologic measurements and procedures that carry little risk to the participant.
(Minimal Risk Study, NCI Thesaurus)
Blue-colored skin caused by too little oxygen in the blood.
(Cyanosis, NCI Dictionary)
Too much or too little of any substance that helps the body work the way it should.
(Chemical imbalance, NCI Dictionary)
I drew my chair a little nearer.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
