miniature

[ min-ee-uh-cher, -choor, min-uh-cher ]

noun

1. a representation or image of something on a small or reduced scale.
2. a greatly reduced or abridged form or copy.
3. a very small painting, especially a portrait, on ivory, vellum, or the like.
4. the art of executing such a painting.
5. an illumination in an illuminated manuscript or book.

adjective

1. being, on, or represented on a small scale; reduced.

   Synonyms: minuscule, tiny, diminutive, microscopic, minute

miniature

/ ˈmɪnɪtʃə /

noun

1. a model, copy, or similar representation on a very small scale
2. anything that is very small of its kind
3. a very small painting, esp a portrait, showing fine detail on ivory or vellum
4. a very small bottle of whisky or other spirits, which can hold 50 millilitres
5. an illuminated letter or other decoration in a manuscript
6. in miniature
   in miniature on a small scale

   games are real life in miniature

adjective

1. greatly reduced in size
2. on a small scale; minute

Other Words From

• super·mini·a·ture adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of miniature¹

1580–90; < Italian miniatura miniature painting < Medieval Latin miniātūra, equivalent to miniāt ( us ) ( miniate ) + -ūra -ure; sense development perhaps influenced by Latin base min- ( mini-, minor )

Word History and Origins

Origin of miniature¹

C16: from Italian, from Medieval Latin miniātūra, from miniāre to paint red, (in illuminating manuscripts); from minium

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in miniature, in a reduced size; on a small scale:

   The zoo exhibition offered a jungle in miniature.

Example Sentences

They placed 26 individuals of six different species in cages overnight and inserted the equivalent of miniature rectal thermometers into their cloacas.

From Science News

Each one is a miniature universe in which the roof is the sky and a vertical post, called “the seat of the sun,” aligns with the sun’s rays every day at noon.

From Nautilus

They’ll need miniature medical devices that fit on the spacecraft.

From Science News

Instead, they use matrices with entries taken from miniature, or “modular,” number systems.

From Quanta Magazine

Scientists have been working on miniature needles for years.

From Science News For Students

She sends a miniature of her own image to the court, envious that it will enjoy a proximity she will never attain.

From The Daily Beast

A representative assembly, John Adams wrote in 1776, “should be in miniature an exact portrait of the people at large.”

From The Daily Beast

Underneath, a miniature version of the bug-crazy man is revealed, himself thwacking away in an alternate dimension.

From The Daily Beast

As I stood over the mud barracks, my translator zeroed in on a miniature mud tank complete with a detailed main gun and top hatch.

From The Daily Beast

For next to no money, the photographer Christine McConnell makes cakes and cookies that are their own miniature horror movies.

From The Daily Beast

To advance in such circumstances was out of the question, he therefore set about building a miniature hut of snow.

From Project Gutenberg

The Countess drew a beautiful miniature from its case, which lay on the sofa near her, and presented it to her young charge.

From Project Gutenberg

One satisfactory way is by the use of a miniature buzzer transmitter.

From Project Gutenberg

Here and there the miniature forests of doura stood up almost still in the sunshine.

From Project Gutenberg

She was examining the ornament on the back of which was carved a miniature bar of music, with three or four notes.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• mini
• pint-sized
• reduced
• scaled-down
• small
• small-scale
• tiny