small-minded

[ smawl-mahyn-did ]
See synonyms for: small-mindedsmallmindedness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. selfish, petty, or narrow-minded.

Origin of small-minded

1
First recorded in 1840–50

Other words from small-minded

  • small-mind·ed·ly, adverb
  • small-mind·ed·ness, noun

Words Nearby small-minded

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use small-minded in a sentence

  • Petrarch was not small-minded, as the noble letter in which he offers to buy his friend's library proves.

  • Her obstinate conduct towards the Fitzclarences is small-minded of her, and to explain it she affects a ridiculous prudery.

  • The hotel manager was a small-minded man with a narrow-minded outlook and a brain that was almost totally unable to learn.

    Thin Edge | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • He refused and felt so small-minded at using his authority against a child that it was a relief to vent his ill-humour on a man.

    Lady Lilith | Stephen McKenna
  • The modern, small-minded ascetic endeavours to grow spiritually by destroying his physical instincts instead of by using them.

    Married Love | Marie Carmichael Stopes

British Dictionary definitions for small-minded

small-minded

adjective
  1. narrow-minded; petty; intolerant; mean

Derived forms of small-minded

  • small-mindedly, adverb
  • small-mindedness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012