much less

Idioms  

1. And certainly not, as in He rarely talks about his outside activities, much less his family. The earliest record of this idiom is in John Milton's Paradise Lost (1671): “The world thou hast not seen, much less her glory.”

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Example Sentences

“EM debt is much less volatile than EM equities with similar returns over time,” she says.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

Despite these concerns, the real-estate industry has much less political leverage than it did in the pre-Mamdani days.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

There’s an interesting proviso in the Allbirds–to–NewBird AI switchover that’s gotten much less public attention.

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

Coachella is never cheap, much less this year’s sold-out edition with the long-awaited live return of Justin Bieber.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

“I can’t imagine losing one of my kids, much less both of them at the same time. I wonder how his wife is taking it.”

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret