diminutive
Americanadjective
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small; little; tiny.
a diminutive building for a model-train layout.
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Grammar. pertaining to or productive of a form denoting smallness, familiarity, affection, or triviality, as the suffix -let, in droplet from drop.
noun
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a small thing or person.
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Grammar. a diminutive element or formation.
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Heraldry. a charge, as an ordinary, smaller in length or breadth than the usual.
adjective
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very small; tiny
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grammar
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denoting an affix added to a word to convey the meaning small or unimportant or to express affection, as for example the suffix -ette in French
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denoting a word formed by the addition of a diminutive affix
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noun
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grammar a diminutive word or affix
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a tiny person or thing
Related Words
See little.
Other Word Forms
- diminutival adjective
- diminutively adverb
- diminutiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of diminutive
First recorded before 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin dīminūtīvus, equivalent to Latin dīminūt(us) “lessened” (for dēminūtus ) + -īvus adjective suffix; diminution, -ive
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.
The bespectacled and diminutive officer became military chief in 2011, as Myanmar broke with its history of iron-fisted martial rule and began its latest experiment with democracy.
From Barron's
And in the Santa Maria Valley, a diminutive 15-year-old girl struggles to load a large bucket with 20 pounds of tomatillos, earning $3 for each one she fills.
From Los Angeles Times
Fearing he’s a has-been, the diminutive, balding Hart slowly succumbs to self-loathing.
From Los Angeles Times
They still took the best-of-seven series to a place where it’s out of the Brewers’ diminutive reach.
From Los Angeles Times
Jimmy Carter’s appearance became more diminutive during his incumbency, but his teeth became bigger; Ronald Reagan’s face went from smiling to hollowed and ghostly.
From Salon
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.
