Synonyms of slight

slight 1 of 3

adjective

ˈslīt 

1

as in weak

lacking bodily strength

a small lad with a slight build

Synonyms & Similar Words

• weak
• weakened
• feeble
• faint
• frail
• softened
• soft
• disabled
• languid
• low
• unsubstantial
• wimpy
• asthenic
• wasted
• delicate
• paralyzed
• tired
• debilitated
• vulnerable
• effete
• tender
• infirm
• prostrate
• enfeebled
• injured
• wimpish
• down-and-out
• exhausted
• sapped
• weary
• incapacitated
• prostrated
• fragile
• enervated
• susceptible
• unsteady
• drained
• invalid
• dizzy
• hurt
• rocky
• flimsy
• powerless
• damaged
• impotent
• woozy
• impaired
• decrepit
• groggy
• yielding
• breakable
• flagging
• resistless
• broken-down
• unsound
• unresistant
• harmed
• worn-out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strong
• powerful
• mighty
• muscular
• stout
• stalwart
• hard
• athletic
• fit
• rugged
• husky
• beefy
• robust
• tough
• brawny
• virile
• sinewy
• sturdy
• lusty
• hardy
• vigorous
• hardened
• sound
• energetic
• able-bodied
• strengthened
• fortified
• capable
• healthy
• strapping
• competent
• hale
• energized
• red-blooded
• inured
• toughened
• recovering
• invigorated
• vitalized
• recuperating
• convalescing

2

as in minor

lacking importance

a slight comedy that did nothing to further her career

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

3

as in little

of a size that is less than average

the slight youth packed a surprisingly solid punch

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

4

as in nominal

so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention

apart from a slight fishy taste, the dish was fine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nominal
• petty
• minute
• tiny
• negligible
• trivial
• little
• inconsiderable
• trifling
• insignificant
• niggling
• piddling
• inconsequential
• piffling
• measly
• paltry
• footling
• picayune
• pimping
• piddly
• Mickey Mouse
• mean
• peanut
• chicken
• imperceptible
• de minimis
• inappreciable
• no-account
• puny
• inferior
• pettifogging
• quibbling
• nitpicking
• small-fry
• one-horse
• hairsplitting
• two-bit

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• considerable
• significant
• important
• substantial
• big
• serious
• material
• consequential
• prominent
• momentous
• striking
• remarkable
• conspicuous
• outstanding
• pivotal
• noteworthy
• appreciable
• discernible
• weighty
• measurable
• eventful
• discernable

5

as in small

small in degree

only a slight chance of success

Synonyms & Similar Words

• small
• off
• slim
• negligible
• minimal
• minor
• marginal
• outside
• remote
• fragile
• tiny
• little
• frail

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• good
• large
• great
• significant
• distinct
• considerable
• substantial
• sizable
• sizeable
• goodly
• healthy
• respectable
• largish
• tidy

slight

2 of 3

noun

as in insult

an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings

refused to respond to their petty slights

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insult
• offence
• sarcasm
• indignity
• outrage
• slap
• affront
• diss
• slur
• name
• barb
• dart
• offense
• personality
• attack
• epithet
• dis
• poke
• cut
• sneer
• dig
• disgrace
• jibe
• criticism
• brickbat
• shame
• taunt
• gird
• gibe
• mock
• disapproval
• put-down
• abuse
• jeer
• swipe
• vituperation
• quip
• invective
• catcall
• knock
• dishonor
• opprobrium
• torture
• torment
• slam

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• compliment
• praise
• commendation
• applause
• acclaim
• flattery
• accolade
• adulation

slight

3 of 3

verb

1

as in to insult

to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in

the dancers felt slighted by the harsh comments of the judges

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insult
• offend
• outrage
• wound
• slap
• affront
• taunt
• upset
• disrespect
• disturb
• displease
• trouble
• hurt
• diss
• dis
• pain
• mock
• distress
• snub
• ridicule
• cut
• jeer
• malign
• torment
• disparage
• smear
• slur
• miff
• revile
• sneer (at)
• slander
• oppress
• torture
• libel
• defame
• persecute

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• approve
• applaud
• hail
• compliment
• commend
• praise
• acclaim
• flatter
• honor
• eulogize
• please
• delight
• exalt
• satisfy
• gratify
• glorify
• sweet-talk
• adulate

2

as in to isolate

to deliberately ignore or treat rudely

as a temp worker, she often feels slighted by the people she has to work with

Synonyms & Similar Words

• isolate
• stiff
• cut
• reject
• repulse
• snub
• cold-shoulder
• repel
• neglect
• forget
• overlook
• high-hat
• disdain
• stiff-arm
• rebuff
• disregard
• spurn
• scorn
• ostracize
• brush (aside or off)
• pass over
• shrug off
• overpass

3

as in to disdain

to show contempt for

music critics who slight any style of music that doesn't fit their personal taste

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disdain
• disrespect
• hate
• diss
• despise
• snub
• walk over
• look down (on or upon)
• scorn
• sniff (at)
• high-hat
• contemn
• sneeze at
• dis
• snoot
• scout
• thumb one's nose (at)
• belittle
• look down one's nose (at)
• loathe
• abhor
• detest
• disparage
• abominate
• frown (on or upon)
• disapprove (of)
• deprecate
• deplore
• discountenance
• execrate
• disfavor

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• respect
• honor
• value
• prize
• treasure
• cherish
• admire
• accept
• appreciate
• esteem
• okay
• approve (of)
• favor
• countenance
• care (for)
• revere
• subscribe (to)
• OK
• worship
• lionize
• venerate
• hallow

4

as in to ignore

to fail to give proper attention to

slighted several major authors in her survey of 20th-century fiction

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ignore
• forget
• overlook
• disregard
• neglect
• miss
• pass over
• bypass
• omit
• reject
• slur (over)
• scant
• overpass
• fail
• disdain
• shrug off
• slough (off)
• scorn
• brush (aside or off)
• sluff (off)
• pooh
• skimp
• pooh-pooh

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• tend (to)
• regard
• appreciate
• attend (to)
• heed
• mind
• value
• prize
• treasure
• remember
• foster
• cultivate
• nurse
• notice
• cherish
• note
• listen (to)
• follow
• watch
• nurture
• mark
• observe
• pamper
• remark

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective slight contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of slight are slender, slim, tenuous, and thin. While all these words mean "not thick, broad, abundant, or dense," slight implies smallness as well as thinness.

a slight build

When is slender a more appropriate choice than slight?

While in some cases nearly identical to slight, slender implies leanness or spareness often with grace and good proportion.

the slender legs of a Sheraton chair

When would slim be a good substitute for slight?

The words slim and slight can be used in similar contexts, but slim applies to slenderness that suggests fragility or scantiness.

a slim volume of poetry

a slim chance

When might tenuous be a better fit than slight?

The synonyms tenuous and slight are sometimes interchangeable, but tenuous implies extreme thinness, sheerness, or lack of substance and firmness.

a tenuous thread

When is it sensible to use thin instead of slight?

The meanings of thin and slight largely overlap; however, 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of slight

Adjective

There is a slight chance of showers after 4 a.m. with a partly cloudy night. —Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 15 July 2025

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 84. July 18: A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. —Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 15 July 2025

Noun

Despite the fact that nobody present has any interest in ecclesiastical architecture, the meetings are hot with petty slights, indignant stares, fragile alliances and hostile incursions. —New York Times, 3 May 2025

Some Jews heard anti-Israel currents in portions of the Black Lives Matter platform, while some Black activists perceived Jewish silence on police brutality; social media amplified every slight. —Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 24 May 2025

Verb

Plus, an in-demand restaurant at capacity might not feel particularly motivated to go above and beyond to satisfy a diner who feels slighted by their subpar table. —Maggie Hennessy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025

Was slighting the defense to improve the offense worth risking a miss on several top defensive prospects? —Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2025