in the least

1. Also, in the slightest. At all, in the smallest degree. These terms are nearly always used in a negative context. For example, I don't care in the least what you do with the money, or It doesn't matter in the slightest whether or not you attend. [c. 1600] They may also be put as not in the least or not in the slightest, as in I am not in the least worried about the outcome, or The heat doesn't bother me in the slightest. In the least dates from about 1600; in the slightest has been used in the sense of “emphatically unimportant or trifling” since the late 1500s.

Example Sentences

“We always strive to ensure detainees are cared for in the least restrictive environment necessary to maintain the safety and security of the institution,” he said.

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In 2023, deaths directly caused by alcohol were 4.5 times higher in the most deprived areas of Scotland than in the least deprived.

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“He’s busy, he’s working, he doesn’t have time for me,” she trills exasperatedly in “My Man on Willpower,” “My slutty pajamas not tempting him in the least.”

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Some 3.1% of patients living in the most deprived areas were waiting more than 12 months to begin treatment at the end of June compared to 2.7% in the least deprived.

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The ruling party says it is not bothered in the least by the coalition which it does not see as a real threat.

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