small-minded

American  

[smawl-mahyn-did] / ˈsmɔlˈmaɪn dɪd /

adjective

1. selfish, petty, or narrow-minded.

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small-minded British  

adjective

1. narrow-minded; petty; intolerant; mean

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Other Word Forms

• small-mindedly adverb
• small-mindedness noun

Etymology

Origin of small-minded

First recorded in 1840–50

Explanation

Someone who's small-minded has a narrow perspective or very firm, unchangeable opinions on things. It's almost impossible to get a small-minded voter to change his or her mind. If you're small-minded, you have a biased view of the world, and you're probably not very tolerant of those with different opinions or experiences. It's as if small-minded people can't step outside their own perspective to empathize with others. A small-minded governor might want to keep all immigrants out of his state, and someone with a small-minded focus on money won't understand your dream of being a poet.

Example Sentences

In Mohit’s telling, Laxman seems merely grubby and small-minded.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

Most of this material doesn't seem political, but it does encourage a form of small-minded narcissism, with the relentless focus on the self.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025

“I love it. It’s gorgeous. I mean, I don’t like the small-minded people that live here. Narrow-minded, narrow boys’ club.

From Slate • Oct. 26, 2024

Part of what makes “Civil War” so powerful is how plausible it is, depicting people in rare moments at their best but more often at their worst, riven by self-interest and small-minded fears.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2024

I think the disappointment was in myself, for thinking that Samir was simply a small-minded chatterer.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri