Synonyms of little

little 1 of 3

adjective

ˈli-tᵊl 

1

as in short

having relatively little height

there was a little hedge separating the two lawns

Synonyms & Similar Words

• short
• small
• tiny
• slight
• low
• low-lying
• low-slung
• dwarf
• sawed-off
• wee
• petite
• compact
• diminutive
• dwarfish
• teeny
• miniature
• smallish
• bitty
• mini
• pocket
• flat
• puny
• dinky
• pygmy
• pocket-size
• minute
• undersized
• half-pint
• stubby
• dumpy
• squat
• scrubby
• stunted
• minimized
• squatty
• stumpy
• teeny-weeny
• pint-size
• bantam

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• high
• tall
• lofty
• lifted
• towering
• elevated
• raised
• uplifted
• large
• big
• statuesque
• lanky
• sizable
• high-rise
• altitudinous
• bulky
• rangy
• hefty
• voluminous
• upswept
• oversize
• outsize
• largish
• gangling
• gangly
• hulking

2

as in small

lacking importance

there were just a few little details left to take care of

Synonyms & Similar Words

• small
• minor
• slight
• worthless
• trivial
• unimportant
• insignificant
• trifling
• minute
• incidental
• foolish
• inconsiderable
• frivolous
• negligible
• petty
• inconsequential
• fiddling
• neither here nor there
• nugatory
• small-fry
• Mickey Mouse
• one-horse
• obscure
• anonymous
• small-time
• jerkwater
• unknown
• paltry
• nickel-and-dime
• nameless
• uncelebrated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• significant
• substantial
• big
• important
• major
• meaningful
• momentous
• eventful
• consequential
• weighty
• decisive
• material
• dominant
• fatal
• principal
• prominent
• chief
• valuable
• remarkable
• impressive
• great
• distinctive
• fateful
• outstanding
• worthy
• overbearing
• exceptional
• overriding
• worthwhile
• basic
• distinguished
• unfrivolous
• eminent
• famous
• fundamental
• illustrious
• essential
• key
• notorious
• prestigious
• overmastering
• all-important
• renowned
• preeminent

3

as in narrow

not broad or open in views or opinions

little-minded people who dislike the fact that human society is always progressing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• small
• narrow
• parochial
• petty
• provincial
• insular
• stubborn
• sectarian
• picayune
• narrow-minded
• Lilliputian
• illiberal
• small-minded
• rigid
• limited
• obstinate
• partisan
• partial
• bigoted
• biased
• reactionary
• obdurate
• intolerant
• discriminatory
• wrongheaded
• stodgy
• old-fashioned
• ironbound
• opinionated
• jaundiced
• dogmatic
• discriminating
• unyielding
• inflexible
• straitlaced
• prejudiced
• hidebound
• stuffy
• unsophisticated
• set
• one-sided
• opinionative
• hick
• brassbound

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberal
• open
• receptive
• cosmopolitan
• tolerant
• catholic
• objective
• impartial
• unbiased
• unprejudiced
• broad-minded
• nonpartisan
• open-minded
• freethinking

4

as in brief

not lasting for a considerable time

let's take a little pause to relax

Synonyms & Similar Words

• brief
• short
• sudden
• concise
• fast
• condensed
• momentary
• fleeting
• curtailed
• transient
• transitory
• abbreviated
• compact
• ephemeral
• syncopated
• shortened
• shortish
• abridged
• summary
• pithy
• abrupt
• short-lived
• succinct
• terse
• short-term
• laconic
• crisp
• epigrammatic
• cut-back
• short-range
• impermanent
• compendious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• long
• great
• far
• lengthy
• extended
• persistent
• endless
• unending
• everlasting
• prolonged
• interminable
• protracted
• permanent
• long-drawn-out
• long-lived
• enlarged
• longish
• overlong
• long-term
• long-range
• expanded
• supplemented

5

as in diminutive

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 & Similar Words

• small
• diminutive
• tiny
• pocket
• slight
• fine
• miniature
• sparse
• puny
• smallish
• dinky
• undersized
• dwarf
• dwarfish
• poor
• pygmy
• slender
• pocket-size
• spare
• lacking
• half-pint
• mini
• subnormal
• stunted
• Lilliputian
• shrimpy
• minuscule
• miniaturized
• pint-size
• toylike
• wee
• bantam
• microscopic
• teeny
• teensy
• insufficient
• bitty
• micro
• scarce
• toy
• inadequate
• scant
• meager
• scrubby
• minute
• infinitesimal
• skimpy
• scanty
• slim
• weeny
• little bitty
• inappreciable
• stingy
• pinpoint
• minim
• wanting
• teensy-weensy
• runty
• teeny-weeny
• deficient
• runtish
• capsule
• minikin
• skimp
• bite-size

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• large
• considerable
• substantial
• big
• great
• sizable
• handsome
• grand
• huge
• goodly
• massive
• whopping
• enormous
• tremendous
• husky
• tidy
• vast
• giant
• bulky
• oversize
• hefty
• voluminous
• gigantic
• outsize
• immense
• gross
• ample
• appreciable
• mountainous
• colossal
• abundant
• generous
• liberal
• prodigious
• monumental
• staggering
• monstrous
• heroic
• stupendous
• mammoth
• galactic
• healthy
• copious
• plentiful
• jumbo
• gargantuan
• largish
• cavernous
• monolithic
• biggish
• thick
• wide
• titanic
• boxcar
• bountiful
• herculean
• broad
• fat
• whacking
• overscale
• king-size
• Himalayan
• plenteous
• humongous
• enough
• hulking
• sufficient
• adequate
• elephantine
• infinite
• cosmic
• cyclopean
• boundless
• pharaonic
• Brobdingnagian
• leviathan
• immeasurable
• incalculable
• Bunyanesque

little

2 of 3

adverb

1

as in slightly

in a very small quantity or degree

we had little more than we needed to survive in the wilderness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slightly
• nominally
• just
• a trifle
• negligibly
• a bit
• barely
• scarcely
• marginally
• minimally
• meagerly
• scantily
• hardly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• very
• something
• far
• most
• extra
• too
• much
• so
• extremely
• significantly
• especially
• considerably
• particularly
• substantially
• highly
• real
• exceedingly
• heavily
• terribly
• greatly
• super
• awfully
• entirely
• mighty
• right
• full
• completely
• extensively
• totally
• purely
• thoroughly
• deadly
• rattling
• utterly
• mightily
• mortally
• exceptionally
• frightfully
• noticeably
• eminently
• jolly
• awful
• appreciably
• beastly
• palpably
• whacking
• abundantly
• generously
• liberally
• discernibly
• handsomely
• hugely
• plentifully
• monstrously
• monumentally
• astronomically
• grandly

2

as in rarely

not often

he's been studying very little for the bar exam

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rarely
• seldom
• infrequently
• sporadically
• never
• sometimes
• once in a blue moon
• occasionally
• irregularly
• now and then
• ne'er
• episodically

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• often
• frequently
• usually
• generally
• oft
• oftentimes
• ordinarily
• always
• routinely
• customarily
• ever
• habitually
• forever
• constantly
• invariably
• continually
• continuously
• endlessly
• perpetually
• eternally
• repeatedly
• chronically
• perennially
• everlastingly
• unceasingly
• evermore
• recurrently

little

3 of 3

noun

as in bit

a very small amount

there's just a little of the pie left

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bit
• glimmer
• sprinkling
• splash
• shred
• hint
• speck
• tad
• touch
• lick
• handful
• spark
• trace
• particle
• dab
• ounce
• sliver
• smack
• smidgen
• mite
• ray
• streak
• crumb
• suspicion
• peanuts
• scintilla
• smell
• dram
• spatter
• minimum
• pinch
• shade
• spot
• bite
• fleck
• strain
• portion
• scruple
• nip
• skosh
• dash
• shadow
• ace
• soupçon
• drop
• dose
• drop in the bucket
• grain
• part
• taste
• modicum
• whit
• snap
• driblet
• semblance
• molecule
• iota
• jot
• section
• vestige
• syllable
• mote
• dot
• nibble
• patch
• tittle
• atom
• fragment
• smattering
• minim
• granule
• morsel
• scrap
• hoot
• scattering
• flyspeck
• nubbin
• flake
• splinter
• shiver
• shard
• smatter
• chip
• clipping
• tatter
• shaving
• paring
• smithereens
• shot

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lot
• plenty
• loads
• quantity
• pile
• wealth
• heaps
• abundance
• mountain
• mass
• deal
• mess
• bundle
• bucket
• stack
• barrel
• raft
• bushel
• profusion
• volume
• wad
• peck
• fistful
• reams
• much
• excess
• boatload
• gobs
• surplus
• oodles
• scads
• lashings
• passel
• embarrassment
• overflow
• potful
• surfeit
• overabundance
• bonanza
• superabundance
• chunk
• slab
• superfluity
• overage
• oversupply
• lump
• hunk
• overkill
• overmuch

Synonym Chooser

How is the word little distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of little are diminutive, miniature, minute, small, and tiny. While all these words mean "noticeably below average in size," little is more absolute in implication often carrying the idea of petiteness, pettiness, insignificance, or immaturity.

your pathetic little smile

When is diminutive a more appropriate choice than little?

Although the words diminutive and little have much in common, diminutive implies abnormal smallness.

diminutive bonsai plants

In what contexts can miniature take the place of little?

The synonyms miniature and little are sometimes interchangeable, but miniature applies to an exactly proportioned reproduction on a very small scale.

a dollhouse with miniature furnishings

When would minute be a good substitute for little?

The words minute and little can be used in similar contexts, but minute implies extreme smallness.

a minute amount of caffeine in the soda

How are the words small and little related?

Both small and little are often interchangeable, but small applies more to relative size determined by capacity, value, number.

a relatively small backyard

How do tiny and minute relate to one another, in the sense of little?

Tiny is an informal equivalent to minute.

tiny cracks formed in the painting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of little

Adjective

International aid was siphoned off, with little oversight, by government officials and their cronies. — Robin Wright, New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2026

For people living near some of those bases with delays, the Pentagon's explanation offers little comfort. — Austin Fast, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Adverb

While the statements differed little from the chairman's prior remarks on inflation, markets took them as hawkish on rates and quickly priced in a strong possibility for a hike at the upcoming meeting. — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026

During her early decades in Detroit, Powell was little known beyond the city. — Brian McCollum, Freep.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Noun

Even the littles help out with age-appropriate tasks. — Melissa Willets, Parents, 18 June 2026

Harsher penalties do little to deter crime or prevent recidivism among young people. — Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026

Phrases Containing little

• Chicken Little
• a little
• little bitty
• little by little
• little guy
• little man