Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Small in size, degree, or amount.
- adjective Lacking strength, substance, or solidity; frail.
- adjective Of small importance or consideration; trifling.
- adjective Small and slender in build or construction; delicate.
- transitive verb To treat (someone) with discourteous reserve or inattention.
- transitive verb To treat as of small importance; make light of.
- transitive verb To do negligently or thoughtlessly; scant.
- noun A deliberate discourtesy; a snub.
from The Century Dictionary.
- An obsolete form of
sly . - To make plain or smooth; smooth: as, to
slight linen (to iron it). - To make level; demolish; overthrow.
- To throw; cast.
- To treat as of little value, or as unworthy of notice; disregard intentionally; treat with intentional neglect or disrespect; make little of.
- Synonyms Disregard, etc. See
neglect , v. t. - noun An act of intentional neglect shown toward one who expects some notice or courtesy; failure to notice one; a deliberate ignoring or disregard of a person, out of displeasure or contempt.
- noun Intentional neglect; disrespect.
- noun Synonyms Disrespect. See the verb.
- noun A more correct, but obsolete spelling of
sleight . - A contraction of by this light or God's light.
- Plain; smooth (in a physical sense).
- Slender; slim; thin; light; hence, frail; unsubstantial: as, a slight figure; a slight structure.
- Slender in character or ability; lacking force of character or intellect; feeble; hence, silly; foolish.
- Very small, insignificant, or trifling; unimportant.
- Of little amount; meager; slender: as, a slight repast.
- Of little weight, or force, or intensity; feeble; gentle; mild: as, a slight impulse or impression; slight efforts; a slight cold.
- Of little thoroughness; superficial; cursory; hasty; imperfect; not thorough or exhaustive: as, a slight glance; slight examination; a slight raking.
- Slighting; contemptuous; disdainful.
- Synonyms Flimsy.
- Petty, scanty, hurried.
- noun A simplified and former spelling of
sleight .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Sleight.
- noun The act of slighting; the manifestation of a moderate degree of contempt, as by neglect or oversight; neglect; indignity.
- adverb Obs. or Poetic Slightly.
- transitive verb obsolete To overthrow; to demolish.
- transitive verb obsolete To make even or level.
- transitive verb obsolete To throw heedlessly.
- adjective Not decidedly marked; not forcible; inconsiderable; unimportant; insignificant; not severe; weak; gentle; -- applied in a great variety of circumstances
- adjective Not stout or heavy; slender.
- adjective Foolish; silly; weak in intellect.
- transitive verb To disregard, as of little value and unworthy of notice; to make light of.
- transitive verb [R.] to run over in haste; to perform superficially; to treat carelessly.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Small ,weak , orgentle ; not decidedlymarked ; not forcible;inconsiderable ;unimportant ;insignificant ; not severe. - adjective Not
stout orheavy ;slender . - adjective
Foolish ;silly ; weak in intellect. - verb To treat as slight or not worthy of attention, to make light of.
- verb To treat with
disdain orneglect . - verb To act
negligently orcarelessly . - verb military To render no longer
defensible by full or partialdemolition . - verb To make even or level.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word slight.
Examples
-
Your expression, "and tends to depart in a slight degree," I think hardly grammatical; a _tendency_ to depart cannot very well be said to be in a slight degree; a _departure_ can, but a tendency must be either a _slight tendency_ or a _strong tendency_; the degree to which the departure may reach must depend on favourable or unfavourable causes in addition to the tendency itself.
Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters and Reminiscences, Vol. 1 James Marchant
-
"In Greece there is two options, pain or default, or what I call a slight combination of the two, pain and restructuring with external support from your European partners and your friends in Washington," Buiter said.
George Papandreou, Greece Prime Minister, To Outline Needed Budget Cuts 2010
-
They're reporting what they call slight but significant movement in his right arm and leg.
-
They had recommended to the Government what they termed the slight punishment of disqualification, by Act of Parliament, from engaging in civil service; but the Ministry and their supporters determined on the summary proceeding of prosecutions under existing law for treason, thinking that few cases would be necessary, -- and all agreed that these should be selected from Boston.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 58, August, 1862 Various
-
Whilst here Cook was for a time confined to his cabin by what he describes as a slight cold, but Mr. Forster says was a severe attack of rheumatism.
The Life of Captain James Cook Kitson, Arthur 1907
-
Emphasis on the word slight." 13jm3211 on Twitter: "Eight of 11 in the QPR starting line up are this summer's transfers.
BBC News - Home 2011
-
Morelon said that it had to move away from using raw milk in its cheeses due to what he called a slight, but nonetheless real, danger of pathogenic micro organisms in the cheese that had been linked to an alleged 2005 contamination of E coli 026.
-
Morelon said that it had to move away from using raw milk in its cheeses due to what he called a slight, but nonetheless real, danger of pathogenic micro organisms in the cheese that had been linked to an alleged 2005 contamination of E coli 026.
-
Conan O'Brien is back at work on the Tonight Show and joking about a stunt accident that gave him what he called a slight concussion.
WN.com - Articles related to Whitney Houston: the life, death and rebirth of a pop princess 2009
-
Morelon said that it had to move away from using raw milk in its cheeses due to what he called a slight, but nonetheless real, danger of pathogenic micro organisms in the cheese that had been linked to an alleged 2005 contamination of E coli 026.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.