slight

[slahyt]

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.

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

Related formsslight·er, nounslight·ly, adverbslight·ness, nouno·ver·slight, adjectiveun·slight·ed, adjective

Synonyms for slight

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slight ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Antonyms for slight

1. considerable.

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

Related Words for slightest

superficial, slim, meager, slender, modest, negligible, trivial, minor, petty, off, scanty, fat, piddling, outside, remote, trifling, skeleton, light, attenuate, frail

Examples from the Web for slightest

Contemporary Examples of slightest

Giving in, even the slightest amount to international gangsters, will only invite higher prices and worse consequences.
The Sony Hack and America’s Craven Capitulation To Terror
David Keyes
December 19, 2014
At any moment, the slightest loss in concentration could see a disastrous tumble.
How the Circus Got a Social Conscience
Justin Jones
November 7, 2014
Save for Warburton himself, not one of them ever offered us the slightest assistance, or, indeed, even spoke to us.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire
H.L. Mencken
October 4, 2014
Over the next seven long minutes, the woman made not the slightest effort to assist him.
The Black Widow of Silicon Valley
Michael Daly
July 14, 2014
Celebrities are people who have the power to win people's attention even for the slightest moment.
We Should Celebrate Social Media's Slaying of Robin Thicke
Tauriq Moosa
July 4, 2014

Historical Examples of slightest

She must never be worried with the slightest inkling of what has happened.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
"I've not the slightest doubt of that," returned the old lady with asperity.
Viviette
William J. Locke
He was right about one thing: Gracie Dennis had not the slightest idea of dying.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
You will remember that she had not the slightest faith in Dirk.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
He had not the slightest idea where he was, nor of what he ought to do next.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri

British Dictionary definitions for slightest

slight

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 slightest

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.

slight

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 slightest

slight

see in the least (slightest).