small-minded
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- small-mindedly adverb
- small-mindedness noun
Etymology
Origin of small-minded
First recorded in 1840–50
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.
I counted on her small-minded interference in the day-to-day running of the school to keep attention diverted elsewhere, while I searched for the information I needed.”
From Literature
“I’m sure there are small-minded people in Manhattan, but our show just wasn’t focused on that part,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times
But it’s not just the small — and small-minded, and small-hearted — wealthy libertarian or right-wing elite.
From Salon
Indeed, the “very sleepy and small-minded” island off the coast of England, known for its beautiful coasts, isaltogether a grain of sand in the Channel, hidden underneath the mainland’s shadow.
From Los Angeles Times
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
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.