slight
Americanadjective
-
small in amount, degree, etc..
a slight increase;
a slight odor.
- Antonyms:
- considerable
-
of little importance, influence, etc.; trivial.
a slight cut.
- Synonyms:
- paltry, trifling, insignificant
-
slender or slim; not heavily built.
-
frail; flimsy; delicate.
a slight fabric.
-
of little substance or strength.
- Synonyms:
- inconsiderable, unsubstantial
verb (used with object)
noun
-
an act or instance of slighting or being slighted.
The critics’ slights led her to change direction in her work.
- Synonyms:
- inattention, disregard, neglect
-
a pointed and contemptuous discourtesy; affront.
She considered not being invited an unforgivable slight.
adjective
-
small in quantity or extent
-
of small importance; trifling
-
slim and delicate
-
lacking in strength or substance
-
dialect ill
verb
-
to show indifference or disregard for (someone); snub
-
to treat as unimportant or trifling
-
to devote inadequate attention to (work, duties, etc)
noun
Synonym Usage
See slender. Slight, disregard, neglect, overlook mean to pay no attention or too little attention to someone or something. To slight is to give only superficial attention to something important: to slight one's work. To disregard is to pay no attention to a person or thing: to disregard the rules; in some circumstances, to disregard may be admirable: to disregard a handicap. To neglect is to shirk paying sufficient attention to a person or thing: to neglect one's correspondence. To overlook is to fail to see someone or something (possibly because of carelessness): to overlook a bill that is due. See insult.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slightsimple
-
slightssimple
-
have slightedperfect
-
has slightedperfect
-
am slightingprogressive
-
are slightingprogressive
-
is slightingprogressive
-
have been slightingperfect progressive
-
has been slightingperfect progressive
Past
-
slightedsimple
-
had slightedperfect
-
was slightingprogressive
-
were slightingprogressive
-
had been slightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slight
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (adjective) “smooth, sleek, slender”; compare Old English -sliht- in eorth-slihtes “even with ground”; cognate with German schlicht, Old Norse slēttr, Gothic slaihts “smooth”
Explanation
Anything slight is very small. There's a slight chance you'll run into a celebrity in New York City — in other words, don't count on it. A slight is also an insult, like giving someone the cold shoulder. Burr. Every meaning of slight stems from the Old Norse for "small or flimsy." If you have a slight build, you're slim with small bones. A slight deviation from your plan is a tiny adjustment. As a verb, to slight means to ignore or be indifferent toward someone; it's also the noun for the act of ignoring. If you direct a movie and the star doesn't thank you in her award acceptance speech, you'll be offended at the slight.
Vocabulary lists containing slight
Some Tricky Homonyms
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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15 Synonyms for "Thin": An Eileen Ford (1922-2014) Tribute List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
According to the report, the share of California’s ballots counted within two days of election day dropped from 81% in 2004 to 66% in 2024, with a slight uptick between 2022 and 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
While the reported sales figures showed only slight growth, that included a five percent negative impact from changes in exchange rates.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
T-Mobile left most of its full-year guidance unchanged but made a slight increase to its forecast for adjusted free cash flow, which now calls for between $18.4 billion and $18.8 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
He has made such a significant impact despite his slight frame.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
He had a slight twitch in his left eye.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
This helps explain why he can’t disregard her criticism the way any normal person might shrug off slights from someone they don’t respect.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Manilow, who entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, insists the slights don’t bother him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Notes apologizing for slights long forgotten, from people I’d also forgotten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Dana releases old slights more easily; there are too many people to save to dismiss a pair of capable hands.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2026
In Tochi s changed persona, in her need to defend against imagined slights, Ifemelu saw a great personal unhappiness.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Drake has a beautiful voice, but her Ali is slighter than that of Maleah Joi Moon, who won a Tony for her Broadway debut performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson was cooler on the film, commenting A Real Pain "is slighter than expected and is thus easily overwhelmed by Culkin’s high shtick".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024
Wu showcases a knack for mining meaning out of the slighter essays, about her teenage job at a quaint bakery, for example, or her idiosyncratic affection for bunnies.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2022
In a European-style system, by contrast, a 4-point shift to the right or left might change only one party in the country’s governing coalition, prompting a slighter policy change more proportional to the electorate’s mood.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2022
He was slighter than Bun, heavily freckled, but he had Bunny’s sandy hair and his sharp little nose.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Though the side didn’t dominate possession against Morocco, it never looked in the slightest trouble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
"I didn't feel myself at all, I didn't look myself in the slightest, I didn't want to go out," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Traditional Kung Pao chicken calls for stir-fried chicken, so no, this recipe isn’t authentic in the slightest.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
The same goes for securities brokers — “The slightest doubt as to the trustworthiness of a broker’s word or commitment would put him out of business overnight.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Mama swallowed and smiled, just the slightest bit, so Ophie did the same, and curtsied again, before leaving to head back to the kitchen.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
If questions about his presence on the team have left him feeling slighted, Freeman says he’s fueled more by the adversity he has faced than by his recent success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Leaving a group trip where someone feels financially slighted can lead to conflict when you get back home.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
Simon gave back despite feeling slighted by the school, from which he graduated with honors in 1985.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
"I imagine that India's leaders will feel slighted and insulted, which will further strain US-India relations," Mr Haas told the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2025
Akin to this first trait is the second, an ever-present, poorly controlled rage—easily triggered by any feeling of being tricked, slighted, or labeled inferior by others.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Black vultures have a massive 5 foot wing span, slighting smaller than the turkey vulture.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2022
“They do not want to be seen as slighting China,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
Santee Cooper apologized in company statements, saying slighting lawmakers wasn’t their intention.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2020
In New Jersey, Lieberman said, that misery only intensified the usual, everyday slighting from New Yorkers, Philadelphians and others — what Lieberman pinpoints as New Jersey’s constant state of embattlement.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2020
I quit selecting certain of my New York brothers and giving them money to go and lay groundwork for new mosques in other cities—because slighting remarks were being made about “Malcolm’s ministers.”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
