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

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 See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective While the female contingent is a slight decline from last year (27 percent were women), the POC percentage is way up (from one-fifth of the nominees last year). — Jon Burlingame, Variety, 30 July 2022 Analysts had been bracing investors for a slight decline because of the supply chain issues and the forthcoming release of a new model this fall. — Michael Liedtke, ajc, 28 July 2022 Broadband user gains came to a halt amid growth challenges across the cable industry, even though most analysts had expected slight gains from Comcast. — Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 July 2022 Government employment showed a slight decline of 9,000 jobs. — Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 8 July 2022 But there was a slight decline in May from a month earlier, driven mostly by lower automobile sales. — Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2022 After seeing a slight decline on Wednesday to close at $206.95, shares edged 0.21% higher on Thursday morning. — Gurufocus, Forbes, 3 June 2022 That’s a slight decline from the 2019-2020 year, where there were 679 total. — Courtney Tanner, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 May 2022 The organization expects to award about 7,500 total scholarships worth approximately $28 million this year, a slight decline from last year’s 8,500. — Rebecca Griesbach | Rgriesbach@al.com, al, 11 May 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb This is not to slight the even more pioneering types who invented country-rock in the two decades prior to that. — Chris Willman, Variety, 7 July 2022 This is not to slight Yao Dogbe, Yetunde Felix-Ukwu and Joel Ashur, all of whom provide giddy portraits of the sleazy manipulation, craven desperation and boundless self-regard inherent in an industry of vanity everlasting. — Peter Marks, Washington Post, 21 June 2022 To say that music was another backdrop for partying is not to slight the music. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2022 That’s not to slight the Navy, but, to be frank, the Navy’s management record on Red Hill is pretty poor. — Craig Hooper, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2022 Since March, the law has been used at least 15 times to punish people who slight party history. — New York Times, 2 Nov. 2021 For Claire, stepping back from her bright career would slight Martha, who could never afford such comforts. — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2021 The response Miss Manners dislikes is your assumption that the host intended to slight some of her guests and hog all the wine for her end of the table. — Washington Post, 28 June 2021 Super Cruise’s accident rate is superb at present, while Tesla’s accident rate with Autopilot on is similar to or slight worse than with Autopilot off. — Brad Templeton, Forbes, 28 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Seen from the perspective of his reckless gamble in Ukraine, a picture emerges of a man who seized on almost every move by the West as a slight against Russia — and perhaps also himself. — New York Times, 26 Mar. 2022 Tom’s slight of them in his eight-page retirement scribble was intentional. — Nick Canepa Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2022 The rookie hit a chopper to second baseman Andres Gimenez, Schoop broke for home immediately and used a textbook hook slight around the outside of the plate to beat the tag by Sandy Leon. — Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 5 July 2022 Earlier this month, fan favorite Jonathan Levin’s departure was announced via one sentence buried at the bottom of a press release — a slight to a player who had developed into a fan favorite. — Theo Mackie, The Arizona Republic, 4 July 2022 Five-foot-three Natalie Portman, slight of build and high of voice, has always been a naturally petite presence. — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 22 June 2022 That’s no slight on Diep, who was proudly assigned to hold the championship trophy despite her losses to the section’s top female player. — Ramon Scott, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2022 That’s no slight on Clive Barker’s 1987 classic, but the film is a surprisingly small-scale family-specific murder melodrama with the supernatural horrors existing as a motivation and/or on the fringes. — Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021 That’s no slight on Tergat, since Gebrselassie at that point hadn’t lost a 10k race since 1990. — Carl Leivers, Outside Online, 14 Apr. 2020 See More

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.