less than
Not at all or hardly at all. For example, He had a less than favorable view of the matter, or She had a less than adequate grasp of the subject. This expression uses less in the sense of “a smaller quantity, number, or extent than is implied,” a usage dating from about a.d. 1000. The same sense appears in less than no time, a hyperbolic term for a very short time (as in Don't worry, he'll be here in less than no time) that dates from about 1800.
Words Nearby less than
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use less than in a sentence
Kim is mocking the entire value system on which she built her career, as well as her own less-than-savory past.
Try to ensure that future generations see his as a less-than-legitimate presidency.
Conservatives have for several years wondered aloud about Barack Obama and his seemingly less-than-warm approach to Israel.
But the same inducement in song at the end of a Woody Allen show has the potential to come off as less-than sincere.
Woody Allen’s ‘Bullets Over Broadway’ Musical and the Moral Responsibility of an Artist | Brian Spitulnik | April 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTImagine what General Electric and Bank of America and Exxon Mobile and every less-than-scrupulous business in America will do.
What's Religious About Corporate America Cheating Workers? | Sally Kohn | March 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The competitor who paid the less-than-carload rate on an equal volume of business would be sadly handicapped.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations | William Z. RipleyKing threw away his less-than-half-consumed cheroot and they started to walk together toward King's camp.
King--of the Khyber Rifles | Talbot MundyThey are not seen; they are not heard, they are less-than nothing, and there is no intercession.
Green Mansions | W. H. Hudson
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