more or less

Definition of more or lessnext
1
2
3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of more or less In simulated procedures involving artificial tissue, blood vessels, and an appendix model, the skin illuminated the areas being gripped, with the brightness and size of the glowing regions changing as the instrument applied more or less force. — New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2026 Modern scholars have usually read them silently or, if reading aloud, declaimed them in a more or less theatrical manner. — Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026 Sadly, that's more or less par for the course in contemporary American politics. — Alexis Guerrero, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 In an interesting flourish, Henry, The Art of Fielding’s star shortstop and more or less that novel’s protagonist, shows up for just a few moments and then disappears. — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for more or less
Recent Examples of Synonyms for more or less
Adverb
  • West Charlotte voters chose a new representative on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners for the first time in almost two decades Tuesday.
    — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Dominguez ran a campaign almost entirely funded by the union and echoed its unequivocal red line against shuttering schools.
    — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
Adverb
  • A lot of debris was thrown across a pretty significant distance as a result of this crash, DeSantis said.
    — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 1 Nov. 2026
  • But then, the work generally has to be pretty good in order to live inside a story; critique trumps narrative.
    — Kristian Vistrup Madsen, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
Adverb
  • Preliminary estimates place the new submarine’s submerged displacement at approximately 10,100 tons.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
  • About 85% of the departures were resignations or retirements, the Post found, while approximately 32,000 full-time workers were directly fired.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2026
Adverb
  • Existing approaches have typically relied on relatively bulky energy-harvesting devices sutured onto organs, which have struggled to generate practically useful amounts of power.
    — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Allure Best of Beauty winner—feels practically weightless on skin, absorbing quickly without clogging pores or leaving behind a greasy residue.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 28 Oct. 2026
Adverb
  • There’s nothing quite like it in Philadelphia—and yet the 18th-century historic space feels right at home in the neighborhood.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Nov. 2026
  • But this matchup didn’t quite live up to the hype after Doncic continued his early season dominance in the Lakers’ 138-117 win.
    — Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
Adverb
  • Baltzor and her husband Keith, had just finished riding a bunch of about 150 hundred head of their cattle down Highway 205 on horseback from another pasture.
    — Anna King, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Thanks to a demolition crew’s early Saturday morning implosion, an 18-story office tower that has hung over Clairmont Road in Chamblee for about five decades has been reduced to rubble.
    — Savannah Sicurella, AJC.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Adverb
  • The large agencies supporting the project include the Metropolitan Water District, which delivers water for nearly 19 million people across Southern California.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The High-Speed-Rail Authority was paying four major consulting firms nearly a quarter-billion dollars over two years.
    — Julie Watts, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2026
Adverb
  • If this sort of shotgun approach to local targeting is a relatively unfamiliar phenomenon in political circles, football fans have long grown used to seeing ads for things that are essentially irrelevant to their own interests.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • These in turn parse into approximately 190,512 possible combinations of speech and action, so that individual museumgoers can have relatively unique encounters with the artist-as-revenant.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“More or less.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/more%20or%20less. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster