slight

Q: Is it 'slight' or 'sleight' of hand?

Although slight is a homophone of sleight , and feels like it makes sense in this idiom, sleight of hand is the correct form when referring to a cleverly executed trick. Sleight means "deceitful craftiness" or "stratagem," and slight means "having a slim or delicate build" (we often hear of a slim person as being "slight of build").

Q: What is the difference between 'sleight' and 'slight'?

In modern use slight may be found as a noun ("a humiliating discourtesy"), a verb ("to treat as slight or unimportant"), and an adjective ("small of its kind or in amount"). Sleight is mainly found as a noun, and can refer either to a deceitful kind of craftiness, or to skill and dexterity.

adjective

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\ ˈslīt

Definition of slight

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : having a slim or delicate build : not stout or massive in body

b : lacking in strength or substance : flimsy, frail

c : deficient in weight, solidity, or importance : trivial a slight movie

2 : small of its kind or in amount a slight chance a slight odor of gas

slight

verb

slighted; slighting; slights

Definition of slight (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to treat as slight or unimportant : make light of

2 : to treat with disdain or indifference slight a guest

3 : to perform or attend to carelessly and inadequately don't slight your work

slight

noun

Definition of slight (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : an act or an instance of slighting

2 : an instance of being slighted : a humiliating discourtesy

Other Words from slight Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Frequently Asked Questions About slight More Example Sentences Learn More about slight

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Choose the Right Synonym for slight

Adjective

thin, slender, slim, slight, tenuous mean not thick, broad, abundant, or dense. thin implies comparatively little extension between surfaces or in diameter, or it may imply lack of substance, richness, or abundance. thin wire a thin soup slender implies leanness or spareness often with grace and good proportion. the slender legs of a Sheraton chair slim applies to slenderness that suggests fragility or scantiness. a slim volume of poetry a slim chance slight implies smallness as well as thinness. a slight build tenuous implies extreme thinness, sheerness, or lack of substance and firmness. a tenuous thread

Verb

neglect, disregard, ignore, overlook, slight, forget mean to pass over without giving due attention. neglect implies giving insufficient attention to something that merits one's attention. habitually neglected his studies disregard suggests voluntary inattention. disregarded the wishes of his family ignore implies a failure to regard something obvious. ignored the snide remark overlook suggests disregarding or ignoring through haste or lack of care. in my rush I overlooked a key example slight implies contemptuous or disdainful disregarding or omitting. slighted several major authors in her survey forget may suggest either a willful ignoring or a failure to impress something on one's mind. forget what others say

Frequently Asked Questions About slight

Is it slight or sleight of hand?

Although slight is a homophone of sleight, and feels like it makes sense in this idiom, sleight of hand is the correct form when referring to a cleverly executed trick. Sleight means "deceitful craftiness" or "stratagem," and slight means "having a slim or delicate build" (we often hear of a slim person as being "slight of build").

What is the difference between sleight and slight?

In modern use slight may be found as a noun ("a humiliating discourtesy"), a verb ("to treat as slight or unimportant"), and an adjective ("small of its kind or in amount"). Sleight is mainly found as a noun, and can refer either to a deceitful kind of craftiness, or to skill and dexterity.

"Is the correct phrase sleight chance or slight chance?"

"If you are referring to such things as your chances of winning the lottery the word you need is slight. This adjectival sense of slight is "small of its kind or in amount."

Examples of slight in a Sentence

Adjective There is a slight chance of rain. Her head is tilted at a slight angle in the picture. If you have even the slightest doubt, then don't do it. Verb I'm sure he didn't mean to slight you. He was slighted by his colleagues. Noun refused to respond to their petty slights

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Another slight decline in April, to 6.1 and 5.8, indicates that case rates and deaths are staying low statewide. — Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, "Charts show stunning drop in California COVID numbers this year," 4 May 2021 Its battery, energy generation, and services segments also suffered a slight decline in revenues to $1.39 billion. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, "Tesla Q1 earnings: The wheels are churning, the pebbles are flying, but TSLA is going nowhere," 26 Apr. 2021 Minnesota health officials on Sunday reported 1,847 new COVID-19 cases, as the seven-day trend in new cases continued to stay relatively flat with a slight decline in cases over the weekend. — Kim Hyatt, Star Tribune, "1,847 more COVID-19 cases, 15 new deaths in Minnesota," 18 Apr. 2021 Despite the dominance of variants, hospitalizations have not been rising in the city in recent weeks, and are actually on a slight decline. — New York Times, "Mapping the Spread of Variants in New York City," 13 Apr. 2021 Gold may have gotten a boost from the week’s slight decline in the yield of the 10 Year T-Notes. — Tom Aspray, Forbes, "Are Investors Too Bullish On Earnings?," 11 Apr. 2021 Globally, the average distance to parity is at 68 percent, a slight decline from 2020. — Steven P. Dinkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Now is the time to work toward gender parity," 11 Apr. 2021 UHart’s undergraduate enrollment data shows a slight decline in enrollment for each fall semester since 2016. — Dom Amore, courant.com, "As UHart struggles with financial concerns, downgrading athletics is an option under scrutiny," 9 Apr. 2021 This week's numbers are a slight decline from recent weeks, continuing a downward trend of cases among Indiana's students, teachers and school employees. — Arika Herron, The Indianapolis Star, "More than 30,000 students have tested positive for COVID-19 this school year," 29 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Not to slight female birds, but that plumage is not recognized as easily as that of breeding males. — Jim Williams, Star Tribune, "Tools for tracking bird migration, online courses, bird videos and books," 11 May 2021 The storm prediction center has highlighted areas with a marginal to slight chance for severe weather from North Carolina stretching back to Texas. — Adam Klotz, Fox News, "National weather forecast: Hurricane season expected to have above-average activity," 10 May 2021 However, Padres manager Jayce Tingler did not try to slight the impact of a potential long-term loss of Tatis. — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, "For now, no surgery for Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr.," 6 Apr. 2021 The suit says the school billed more than $24,000 for full time tuition for the Spring 2020 semester, which breaks down to slight more than $1,500 to $2,000 per credit hour for a traditional 12 to 16 coarse load. — Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, "Federal Judge rules Quinnipiac students can continue lawsuit for tuition payments forfeited during pandemic," 26 Mar. 2021 Meteorologist Joe Goudsward said the risk is expected to increase to slight for the Little Rock area Wednesday night. — Brianna Kwasnik, Arkansas Online, "Storms expected to bring severe weather to state through Thursday," 24 Mar. 2021 The greater enhanced risk area still includes Baton Rouge, Hammond, and the rest of southwestern Louisiana, while the risk level has dropped to slight for New Orleans, Slidell and the rest of southeastern Louisiana. — Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com, "High winds, hail, tornadoes still possible for south Louisiana's New Year's Eve," 31 Dec. 2020 Elliott, who was felled by COVID-19, has listened to people wonder about his role in the Cowboys offense under Mike McCarthy for months and hear others slight his status among the league’s running back hierarchy. — David Moore, Dallas News, "After an offseason of questions, Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott says he has plenty to prove in 2020," 18 Aug. 2020 The official said that Mr. Pence was acting out of a desire to get the money out the door, not to slight Mr. Azar. — Noah Weiland, New York Times, "Coronavirus Casts Unwelcome Spotlight on Trump’s Health Secretary," 29 Apr. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Medina: This isn't a slight on the Jazz or any other team. — Matt Eppers, USA TODAY, "NBA roundtable: Who deserves more attention as serious championship contenders?," 14 Apr. 2021 The Wildcats, needless to say, were not amused by the slight. — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, "Women's Final Three? NCAA Women's Final Four video omits Arizona Wildcats basketball," 2 Apr. 2021 Before the season, the conference media had picked USC to finish sixth in the Pac-12, and the Trojans never forgot the slight. — Los Angeles Times, "The Sports Report: UCLA advances to Final Four, USC does not," 31 Mar. 2021 Chinese celebrities are cutting ties with Hugo Boss over the slight. — David Meyer, Fortune, "As the furore over Xinjiang cotton shows, companies cannot escape politics," 29 Mar. 2021 After a season more enamoured with gimmicky twists than true romance, this latest slight is particularly difficult to accept. — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, "The Bachelor Brushed Past Bri’s Life-Altering Reveal. It’s Part Of A Much Bigger Problem," 16 Feb. 2021 Proclaiming french fries to be the best dish is in no way a slight to the chef. — San Antonio Express-News, "Express Briefing: How to quiet a barking dog for better Zoom meetings," 22 Mar. 2021 The statement urges Biden into picking Young because not doing so could be interpreted as a slight to key allies. — Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner, "Biden follows his party; Trump rules Republicans with iron fist," 4 Mar. 2021 The Bachelorette finally being interesting again (no slight to Tyler C., by the way). — Sumiko Wilson, refinery29.com, "You Have 10 New Netflix Canada Treats To Watch This Weekend," 30 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'slight.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.