slight

[ slahyt ]

/ slaɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slight ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, slight·er, slight·est.

small in amount, degree, etc.: a slight increase; a slight odor.

of little importance, influence, etc.; trivial: a slight cut.

slender or slim; not heavily built.

frail; flimsy; delicate: a slight fabric.

of little substance or strength.

verb (used with object)

to treat as of little importance.

to treat (someone) with indifference; ignore, especially pointedly or contemptuously; snub: to be slighted by society.

to do negligently; scamp: to slight one's studies.

noun

an act or instance of slighting or being slighted: The critics’ slights led her to change direction in her work.

a pointed and contemptuous discourtesy; affront: She considered not being invited an unforgivable slight.

Nearby words

Origin of slight

1250–1300; Middle English (adj.) smooth, sleek, slender; compare Old English -sliht- in eorth-slihtes even with ground; cognate with German schlicht, Old Norse slēttr, Gothic slaihts smooth

SYNONYMS FOR slight

2. insignificant, trifling, paltry. 3. See slender. 4. weak, feeble, fragile. 5. unsubstantial, inconsiderable. 6. disdain, scorn. 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. 9. neglect, disregard, inattention. 10. See insult.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slight ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR slight

1. considerable.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR slight ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

slight·er, nounslight·ly, adverbslight·ness, nouno·ver·slight, adjective

un·slight·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slight

Her slight miscalculation of how to fix the situation leads to her driving around the gas pump.
Slow Motion Tiger Jump, a Tornado at the Rose Bowl and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The traditional wisdom is “action is character,” and their evolution is one, with a slight edge to character.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had a tailor who ran up dozens of the same suit in different sizes to account for slight variations in his weight.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dawn was rising on November 24, 1964, and there was a slight fog but otherwise clear visibility.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Several polls over the last few months—including in early October—have showed Grimes with a slight lead over McConnell.
Mitch McConnell’s Big Day: A Turtle Suns Himself|Olivia Nuzzi|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A slight figure could be seen immediately above the bulwark on the land side.
Lochinvar|S. R. Crockett
She was slight and, as I found afterward, for a woman very tall and exceedingly graceful.
Latitude 19 degree|Mrs. Schuyler Crowninshield
On this account he overcame his slight feeling against Mr. Dare, and put a question to test that gentleman's capacities.
A Laodicean|Thomas Hardy
She sat upright in her chair again, with a slight impatient shake of the head.
The Book of Susan|Lee Wilson Dodd
Slight movements of the hands from the wrists will keep the body floating.
Swimming Scientifically Taught|Frank Eugen Dalton and Louis C. Dalton

British Dictionary definitions for slight

slight

/ (slaɪt) /

adjective

small in quantity or extent

of small importance; trifling

slim and delicate

lacking in strength or substance

Southwest English dialect ill

verb (tr)

to show indifference or disregard for (someone); snub

to treat as unimportant or trifling

US to devote inadequate attention to (work, duties, etc)

noun

an act or omission indicating supercilious neglect or indifference

Derived Formsslightness, noun

Word Origin for slight

C13: from Old Norse slēttr smooth; related to Old High German slehtr, Gothic slaihts, Middle Dutch slecht simple

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for slight

slight

adj.

early 14c., "flat, smooth; hairless," probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse slettr "smooth, sleek," from Proto-Germanic *slikhtaz (cf. Old Saxon slicht; Low German slicht "smooth, plain common;" Old English -sliht "level," attested in eorðslihtes "level with the ground;" Old Frisian sliucht "smooth, slight," Middle Dutch sleht "even, plain," Old High German sleht, Gothic slaihts "smooth"), probably from a collateral form of PIE *sleig- "to smooth, glide, be muddy," from root *(s)lei- "slimy" (see slime (n.)).

Sense evolution probably is from "smooth" (c.1300), to "slim, slender; of light texture," hence "not good or strong; insubstantial, trifling, inferior, insignificant" (early 14c.). Meaning "small in amount" is from 1520s. Sense of German cognate schlecht developed from "smooth, plain, simple" to "bad, mean, base," and as it did it was replaced in the original senses by schlicht, a back-formation from schlichten "to smooth, to plane," a derivative of schlecht in the old sense [Klein].

slight

c.1300, "make plain or smooth," from slight (adj.) Meaning "treat with indifference" (1590s) is from the adjective in sense of "having little worth." Related: Slighted; slighting.

1550s, "small amount or weight," from slight (v.). Meaning "act of intentional neglect or ignoring out of displeasure or contempt" is from 1701, probably via 17c. phrase make a slight of (1610s).

Idioms and Phrases with slight

slight

see in the least (slightest).

slight

adjective, slight·er, slight·est.

verb (used with object)

noun

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Origin of slight

Examples from the Web for slight

slight

adjective

verb (tr)

noun

Word Origin for slight

slight

slight

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