slight
Americanadjective
-
slighter,
comparative
-
slightest
superlative
-
small in amount, degree, etc..
a slight increase;
a slight odor.
- Antonyms:
- considerable
-
of little importance, influence, etc.; trivial.
a slight cut.
- Synonyms:
- paltry, trifling, insignificant
-
slender or slim; not heavily built.
-
frail; flimsy; delicate.
a slight fabric.
-
of little substance or strength.
- Synonyms:
- inconsiderable, unsubstantial
verb (used with object)
-
slights,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slighted,
past participle, past
-
slighting
present participle
noun
-
slights
plural
-
an act or instance of slighting or being slighted.
The critics’ slights led her to change direction in her work.
- Synonyms:
- inattention, disregard, neglect
-
a pointed and contemptuous discourtesy; affront.
She considered not being invited an unforgivable slight.
adjective
-
small in quantity or extent
-
of small importance; trifling
-
slim and delicate
-
lacking in strength or substance
-
dialect ill
verb
-
to show indifference or disregard for (someone); snub
-
to treat as unimportant or trifling
-
to devote inadequate attention to (work, duties, etc)
noun
Synonym Usage
See slender. Slight, disregard, neglect, overlook mean to pay no attention or too little attention to someone or something. To slight is to give only superficial attention to something important: to slight one's work. To disregard is to pay no attention to a person or thing: to disregard the rules; in some circumstances, to disregard may be admirable: to disregard a handicap. To neglect is to shirk paying sufficient attention to a person or thing: to neglect one's correspondence. To overlook is to fail to see someone or something (possibly because of carelessness): to overlook a bill that is due. See insult.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slightsimple
-
slightssimple
-
have slightedperfect
-
has slightedperfect
-
am slightingprogressive
-
are slightingprogressive
-
is slightingprogressive
-
have been slightingperfect progressive
-
has been slightingperfect progressive
Past
-
slightedsimple
-
had slightedperfect
-
was slightingprogressive
-
were slightingprogressive
-
had been slightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slight
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (adjective) “smooth, sleek, slender”; compare Old English -sliht- in eorth-slihtes “even with ground”; cognate with German schlicht, Old Norse slēttr, Gothic slaihts “smooth”
Explanation
Anything slight is very small. There's a slight chance you'll run into a celebrity in New York City — in other words, don't count on it. A slight is also an insult, like giving someone the cold shoulder. Burr. Every meaning of slight stems from the Old Norse for "small or flimsy." If you have a slight build, you're slim with small bones. A slight deviation from your plan is a tiny adjustment. As a verb, to slight means to ignore or be indifferent toward someone; it's also the noun for the act of ignoring. If you direct a movie and the star doesn't thank you in her award acceptance speech, you'll be offended at the slight.
Vocabulary lists containing slight
Some Tricky Homonyms
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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15 Synonyms for "Thin": An Eileen Ford (1922-2014) Tribute List
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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.
See Examples For:
Consumer prices for July are due at 8:30 a.m., with forecasters expecting a slight 0.1% rise in July, which would help keep the Fed on hold.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Manager Dave Roberts said last week that Rushing’s MRI showed a slight UCL tear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
A 2022 report by the Global Wellness Institute found that greater consumer spending on wellness is associated with a slight increase in life expectancy.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Thursday's figures, external suggested an overall attendance rate of 93% for 2025/26, a slight decrease on the previous year.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
A slight weight on my shoulders from not saying anything about the postcards.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
This helps explain why he can’t disregard her criticism the way any normal person might shrug off slights from someone they don’t respect.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
"An overwhelming picture has emerged of your rage, anger, and volatility", said the judge, adding that George had a "pronounced temper" which could be sparked by trivial matters and "perceived slights".
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Drake turns the frigid, isolated mansion rap that’s become his trademark toward relitigating the last half-decade of petty squabbles and minor slights.
From Salon ● May 21, 2026
They’re like elite athletes who use slights to fuel their pursuits of even greater achievements, instead of just brushing aside discouraging remarks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
He thinks of little cruelties, small slights, minor snubs.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson was cooler on the film, commenting A Real Pain "is slighter than expected and is thus easily overwhelmed by Culkin’s high shtick".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024
As the storylines have become more current, they have, perhaps inevitably, become both slighter and messier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
Wu showcases a knack for mining meaning out of the slighter essays, about her teenage job at a quaint bakery, for example, or her idiosyncratic affection for bunnies.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2022
Originally programmed in 1987 by George Lewis, the composer, performer and computer-music pioneer, Voyager’s discography is slighter than Mitchell’s, but likewise thrilling.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2022
A big guy as dark as midnight and a slighter guy, also dark black.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
As a result, fallow fields are in a "deplorable state, and at the slightest spark, the blaze spreads like wildfire" due to vegetation dried out by the heat.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
When fouls are studied like the Zapruder Film, even the slightest contact takes on proportions that countries like Sweden would simply prefer to live without.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
"But they haven't done any better at all, not in the slightest," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Traditional Kung Pao chicken calls for stir-fried chicken, so no, this recipe isn’t authentic in the slightest.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
She nodded but didn’t look at me, and I could tell from the rigidity of the muscles beneath my hand that I hadn’t convinced her in the slightest.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
That’s left some residents feeling slighted, saying they were unaware of the attraction until ground was moved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Leaving a group trip where someone feels financially slighted can lead to conflict when you get back home.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
Simon gave back despite feeling slighted by the school, from which he graduated with honors in 1985.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
Judge Geraint Walters told Swansea Crown Court that Cooper appeared to have felt "slighted" after Mr Evans and his partner shared a look while his partner, Catherine Tracy Francis, was singing karaoke.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025
And you, Laila had asked, do you feel slighted, Babi?
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
But he wasn’t slighting Griffin’s dynamic rookie season.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2022
That would be slighting those who came before him: Ozzie Newsome, Dave Casper and Keith Jackson in the day, and Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Rob Gronkowski in more recent years.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2022
Black vultures have a massive 5 foot wing span, slighting smaller than the turkey vulture.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2022
Santee Cooper apologized in company statements, saying slighting lawmakers wasn’t their intention.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2020
I’d thought I was getting back at her for slighting me.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
