as in disadvantage
a feature of someone or something that creates difficulty for achieving success
a plan with lots of pluses and only a few minuses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of minus
Sam Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
Smart leads the Lakers in overall plus-minus, a quiet cog who connects the Lakers’ constellation of stars.
—Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 31 Mar. 2026
Durabook has unveiled the Z14I-HG, a fully rugged mobile workstation packing 682 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI power inside a magnesium-alloy shell built to survive everything from minus 29 °C (-20 °F) frozen tundra to plus 63 °C (145 °F) desert heat and direct sandstorm exposure.
—Omar Kardoudi
march 31, New Atlas, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for minus
Noun
His season, too, has been underwhelming (minus-114 in 1,645 minutes for Golden State’s second-worst plus-minus) in accordance with his future Hall of Fame standards, but his personal creed remains intact.
—Sam Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
Smart leads the Lakers in overall plus-minus, a quiet cog who connects the Lakers’ constellation of stars.
—Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
Preposition
For those who prefer a milder bite, Wendy’s Classic Chicken Sandwich has the same upgrades minus the heat.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 31 Mar. 2026
Durabook has unveiled the Z14I-HG, a fully rugged mobile workstation packing 682 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI power inside a magnesium-alloy shell built to survive everything from minus 29 °C (-20 °F) frozen tundra to plus 63 °C (145 °F) desert heat and direct sandstorm exposure.
—Omar Kardoudi
march 31, New Atlas, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for minus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for minus
Noun
-
For decades, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation has offered college scholarships to Black students who faced disadvantages from attending underfunded schools in majority-Black districts.—
Julian Mark,
Washington Post,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Any disadvantage there may be in waiting a week or 10 days to get started on the portal is offset, probably outweighed, by the attention and excitement being built for BC basketball by their incoming coach’s presence on national TV, associated with a Final Four team.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
31 Mar. 2026
Preposition
-
While your expressive nature loves the spotlight, group work is currently the ideal way to showcase your skills without accidentally bragging.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Keeping in mind the teams wrap up the series Wednesday afternoon at Fenway, the Red Sox should be extremely grateful to get out of Tuesday’s game without needing to pull Contreras off some fallen Brewer.—
Steve Buckley,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Shape of brush The overall shape of a scrub brush can be an asset or a handicap.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Moscow relies heavily on oil revenue to finance its invasion and sanctions were a growing handicap.—
SYLVIE CORBET,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Film negatives deteriorate through humidity, chemical decay and physical damage, and without timely intervention, important works risk being lost entirely.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The original black-and-white 35mm negatives of the film have been lost.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
However, the downside of that choice is that this initial offering feels like little more than a setup for the story to come.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The downside of such reliability is that even the smallest miscue seems shocking by comparison.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/minus. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
