small

small

adjective

Definition of SMALL

1

of a size that is less than average <a small cat who never weighed more than five pounds>

Synonyms bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, pint-size (or pint-sized), pocket, pocket-size (also pocket-sized), puny, pygmy, shrimpy, slight, smallish, subnormal, toylike, undersized (also undersize)

Related Words dwarf, toy; runtish, runty, scrubby, stunted; bitty, inappreciable, infinitesimal, little bitty, micro, microscopic (also microscopical), mini, miniature, miniaturized, minikin, minim, minuscule, minute, pinpoint, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, weeny (also weensy); meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy; deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting; bite-size (also bite-sized), capsule

Near Antonyms bulky, hefty, hulking, massive, voluminous; boxcar, Brobdingnagian, Bunyanesque, cavernous, colossal, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, giant, gigantic, gross, Himalayan, herculean, heroic (also heroical), huge, humongous (also humungous), immense, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, monolithic, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, pharaonic, prodigious, staggering, stupendous, titanic, tremendous, vast; abundant, ample, appreciable, bountiful, copious, generous, healthy, liberal, plenteous, plentiful; fat, thick; broad, wide; boundless, cosmic (also cosmical), immeasurable, incalculable, infinite; adequate, enough, sufficient

Antonyms big, biggish, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome, husky, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, outsize (also outsized), overscale (or overscaled), oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, tidy, whacking, whopping

2

small in degree <your chances of winning the lottery are so small that it's best not to count on it>

Synonyms fragile, frail, negligible, off, outside, slight, slim, small

Related Words marginal, minimal, minor; little, tiny

Near Antonyms great, large; distinct, significant; considerable, goodly, healthy, largish, respectable, significant, sizable (or sizeable), substantial, tidy

Antonyms good

3

lacking importance <reluctant to bring such a small matter to the boss's attention>

Synonyms fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial

Related Words jerkwater, one-horse; nickel-and-dime, paltry, petty, small-time, worthless; anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown

Near Antonyms decisive, fatal, fateful; chief, dominant, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, principal; distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable; valuable, worthwhile, worthy; distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, preeminent, prestigious; famous, notorious, renowned; all-important, basic, essential, fundamental, key

Antonyms big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty

4

not broad or open in views or opinions <townspeople who were helpful to one another but who also could be small and intolerant>

Synonyms illiberal, insular, Lilliputian, little, narrow-minded, parochial, petty, picayune, provincial, sectarian, small, small-minded

Related Words inflexible, ironbound, obdurate, obstinate, rigid, set, stubborn, unyielding, wrongheaded; bigoted, intolerant; biased, discriminating, discriminatory, jaundiced, one-sided, partial, partisan, prejudiced; brass bound, hidebound, old-fashioned, reactionary, stodgy, straitlaced (or straightlaced), stuffy; dogmatic (also dogmatical), opinionated, opinionative; limited; hick, unsophisticated

Near Antonyms impartial, nonpartisan, objective, unbiased, unprejudiced; freethinking

Antonyms broad-minded, catholic, cosmopolitan, liberal, open, open-minded, receptive, tolerant