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little

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of little

1 having relatively little height
  • There was a little hedge separating the two lawns.
Synonyms of little

low, low-lying, low-slung, short
Words Related to little

dwarf, dwarfish

compact, petite, slight

diminutive, half-pint, pint-size (or pint-sized), pocket, pocket-size (also pocket-sized), pygmy, small, smallish

bantam, bitty, dinky, mini, miniature, minute, puny, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, undersized (also undersize), wee

stubby, stumpy, stunted
Near Antonyms of little

elevated, lifted, raised, uplifted, upswept

high-rise, statuesque

gangling, gangly, lanky, rangy

big, bulky, hefty, hulking, large, largish, outsize (also outsized), oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), voluminous
Antonyms of little

high, lofty, tall, towering
2 lacking importance
  • There were just a few little details left to take care of.
Synonyms of little

fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, minor, minute, negligible, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant
Words Related to little

jerkwater, one-horse

nickel-and-dime, paltry, petty, small-time, worthless

anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown
Phrases Synonymous with little

neither here nor there
Near Antonyms of little

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 of little

big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty
3 not broad or open in views or opinions
  • little-minded people who dislike the fact that human society is always progressing
Synonyms of little

illiberal, insular, Lilliputian, narrow, narrow-minded, parochial, petty, picayune, provincial, sectarian, small, small-minded
Words Related to little

inflexible, ironbound, obdurate, obstinate, rigid, set, stubborn, unyielding, wrongheaded

bigoted, intolerant

biased, jaundiced, one-sided, partial, partisan, prejudiced

brass bound, hidebound, old-fashioned, reactionary, stodgy, straitlaced (or straightlaced), stuffy

dogmatic (also dogmatical), opinionated
Near Antonyms of little

impartial, nonpartisan, objective, unbiased, unprejudiced

freethinking
Antonyms of little

broad-minded, catholic, cosmopolitan, liberal, open, open-minded, receptive, tolerant
4 not lasting for a considerable time
  • Let's take a little pause to relax.
Synonyms of little

brief, fast, short
Words Related to little

shortish

abbreviated, abridged, curtailed, cut-back, shortened, syncopated

compact, condensed

abrupt, sudden

ephemeral, fleeting, momentary, short-lived, transient, transitory

impermanent

compendious, concise, pithy, succinct, summary, terse

short-range, short-term
Near Antonyms of little

endless, everlasting, interminable, persistent, unending

longish, overlong, prolonged, protracted

permanent

enlarged, expanded, supplemented

long-range, long-term
Antonyms of little

extended, far, great, lengthy, long, long-drawn-out (or long-drawn), long-lived
5 of a size that is less than average
  • The petting zoo has a little horse in addition to all of the goats and sheep.
Synonyms of little

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

dwarf, toy

runtish, runty, scrubby, stunted

bitty, infinitesimal, micro, microscopic (also microscopical), mini, miniature, miniaturized, minuscule, minute, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee
Near Antonyms of little

bulky, hefty, hulking, massive, voluminous

cavernous, colossal, elephantine, enormous, gargantuan, giant, gigantic, gross, herculean, heroic (also heroical), huge, humongous (also humungous), immense, jumbo, mammoth, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, prodigious, staggering, stupendous, titanic, tremendous, vast
Antonyms of little

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

Synonym Discussion of little

small, little, diminutive, minute, tiny, miniature mean noticeably below average in size. small and little are often interchangeable, but small applies more to relative size determined by capacity, value, number.
    • a relatively small backyard
little is more absolute in implication often carrying the idea of petiteness, pettiness, insignificance, or immaturity.
    • your pathetic little smile
diminutive implies abnormal smallness.
    • diminutive bonsai plants
minute implies extreme smallness.
    • a minute amount of caffeine in the soda
tiny is an informal equivalent to minute.
    • tiny cracks formed in the painting
miniature applies to an exactly proportioned reproduction on a very small scale.
    • a dollhouse with miniature furnishings

little

adverb

Synonyms and Antonyms of little

1 in a very small quantity or degree
  • We had little more than we needed to survive in the wilderness.
Synonyms of little

negligibly, nominally, slightly
Words Related to little

meagerly, scantily

barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely
Phrases Synonymous with little

a bit, a trifle
Near Antonyms of little

completely, entirely, purely, thoroughly, totally, utterly

eminently, exceptionally

appreciably, discernibly, noticeably, palpably

abundantly, plentifully

generously, handsomely, liberally

grandly, hugely, monstrously, monumentally
Antonyms of little

awfully, beastly, considerably, deadly, especially, exceedingly (also exceeding), extensively, extra, extremely, far, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, mightily, mighty, mortally, most, much, particularly, rattling, real, right, significantly, so, substantially, super, terribly, too, very, whacking
2 not often
  • He's been studying very little for the bar exam.
Synonyms of little

infrequently, rarely, seldom
Words Related to little

ne'er, never

irregularly, now and then, occasionally, sometimes, sporadically
Phrases Synonymous with little

once in a blue moon
Near Antonyms of little

customarily, generally, habitually, ordinarily, routinely, usually

always, constantly, continually, continuously, endlessly, eternally, ever, everlastingly, evermore, forever, invariably, perennially, perpetually, unceasingly

chronically, recurrently, repeatedly
Antonyms of little

frequently, oft, often, oftentimes (or ofttimes)

little

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of little

a very small amount
  • There's just a little of the pie left.
Synonyms of little

ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, mite, nip, ounce, particle, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, smack, smidgen (also smidgeon), snap, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, trace
Words Related to little

hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit

atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap

dash, drop, pinch

part, portion, section

bite, nibble, taste

handful, scattering, smatter, smattering

dose, shot
Phrases Synonymous with little

drop in the bucket
Near Antonyms of little

abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth

volume

chunk, hunk, lump, slab

Learn More about little

  1. See words that rhyme with little Dictionary: Definition of little Medical Dictionary: Definition of little Spanish Central: Translation of little Nglish: Translation of little for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of little for Arabic speakers

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