small-minded
adjective
small-mind·ed
ˈsmȯl-ˈmīn-dəd 
1
: having narrow interests, sympathies, or outlook
2
: typical of a small-minded person : marked by pettiness, narrowness, or meanness
small-minded conduct
small-mindedly
adverb
small-mindedness
noun
Examples of small-minded in a Sentence
a small-minded man only concerned with his own well-being
resented the small-minded people who automatically opposed every new idea
Recent Examples on the Web
The momentum behind these ventures — the idea, unpalatable to many of us small-minded, provincial types, of taking domestic league matches abroad — remains strong.
—
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
But small-minded individuals, who happened to be blocking our path at any point in time, my goal was to get around them.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
Incremental development and half-measures got us into this problem; that small-minded thinking will not get us out of it.
—Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 9 June 2025
Identify 5 specific behaviors, habits, or thought patterns that would seem ridiculous or small-minded to someone playing at a higher level.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
The way that Pliny saw it, astrology was small-minded fatalism, in which people glommed onto meaningless symbols for a sense of identity.
—Maya Layne, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Their small-minded nature is justified through closeness, but really, everyone seems miserable, with their connections to Judaism existing in social standing only.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Clearly, the two men are supposed to represent competing visions of Britishness: the one tolerant and outward-looking, drawing on the country’s rich heritage as a way to move the culture forward, the other entitled and small-minded, invested in the past only as a tool of propaganda.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian.
—Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
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Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
But small-minded individuals, who happened to be blocking our path at any point in time, my goal was to get around them.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
Incremental development and half-measures got us into this problem; that small-minded thinking will not get us out of it.
—Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 9 June 2025
Identify 5 specific behaviors, habits, or thought patterns that would seem ridiculous or small-minded to someone playing at a higher level.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
The way that Pliny saw it, astrology was small-minded fatalism, in which people glommed onto meaningless symbols for a sense of identity.
—Maya Layne, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Their small-minded nature is justified through closeness, but really, everyone seems miserable, with their connections to Judaism existing in social standing only.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Clearly, the two men are supposed to represent competing visions of Britishness: the one tolerant and outward-looking, drawing on the country’s rich heritage as a way to move the culture forward, the other entitled and small-minded, invested in the past only as a tool of propaganda.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian.
—Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Small-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/small-minded. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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