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slight 1 of 3

adjective

ˈslīt How to pronounce slight (audio)
Definition of slightnext
1
as in weak
lacking bodily strength a small lad with a slight build

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2
as in minor
lacking importance a slight comedy that did nothing to further her career

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3
as in little
of a size that is less than average the slight youth packed a surprisingly solid punch

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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

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5
as in small
small in degree only a slight chance of success

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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

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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

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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

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3
as in to disdain
to show contempt for music critics who slight any style of music that doesn't fit their personal taste

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4
as in to ignore
to fail to give proper attention to slighted several major authors in her survey of 20th-century fiction

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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

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 slight
Adjective
Traders are still betting on a slight chance that the Federal Reserve could hold off on hiking interest rates, though. — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Even so, using the weekly values is a slight departure from the norm. — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
Noun
But the Hornets will embrace this projection as a slight as the team with the most to prove. — Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026 On Thursday, July 2, the evening before the wedding, Gomez wore a strapless black dress with a thigh-high slight by the same dress designer for Swift and Kelce's rehearsal dinner at Madison Square Garden. — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026
Verb
Militia commanders were already feeling slighted by their British overlords, and London’s stranglehold on trade and manufacturing caused still more resentment. — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 For each of the murders, the four men either lured or abducted and drove the victims to the Angeles National Forest after the victims slighted the gang in different ways, according to the Justice Department. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 5 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for slight
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slight
  1. weak
  2. minor
  3. little
  4. nominal
  5. small
  6. insult
  7. offend
  8. isolate
Adjective
  • Ferries are a common method of travel and accidents occur regularly, in part due to weak enforcement of safety standards.
    — IMAN SATRIA, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
  • This time a year ago, a weak La Niña — El Niño’s cool counterpart — was in place, and only a handful of other years have had such a rapid flip to a potent El Niño, including the strongest ever event from 1982 to 1983.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of weak
Adjective
  • Once in orbit at L2, only minor burns once every 28 days are needed for station keeping — a negligible amount of fuel.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Everyone wants better decisions, particularly when their own team is on the wrong end of an injustice, minor or major.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of minor
Adjective
  • That’s right — after three straight Friday-night deadlines, Gameweek Four gets under way at 3pm on Saturday, handing you that little bit of extra time to agonise over the right moves for the next round of action.
    — Ben Dinnery, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Jongmin Lee, a quantum sensing scientist at SNL, has been working to build an extremely small version of this device, one that consumes very little power and can be used in the field.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of little
Adjective
  • For a nominal sum, the paper each day serves up authoritative accounts of sports events that occurred as much as a day earlier, give or take.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The calculation refers to nominal total returns, combining coupon income and changes in the bond's market price.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of nominal
Adjective
  • Then handle the smaller responsibilities competing for your attention.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Its compact permanent magnet motor enables a smaller pod diameter, reducing hydrodynamic drag while maintaining high propulsion performance.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of small
Noun
  • Those who drive past our protests and yell insults or flip us the bird are to be pitied.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The billboards made Angelyne famous for being famous when that phrase was still an insult.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of insult
Verb
  • Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who is standing just steps away from the mayor at the ceremony, said that Mamdani’s presence would offend him.
    — Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • For that, their game — analyzing randomness and violence and doing so without offending our intelligence — has become as important to the American audience as The Game.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of offend
Verb
  • Its effects accumulate and are filtered through context and third-party interpretation, making its contribution harder to isolate.
    — Julia Ruttner, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Rather than chart her full life, the Hindi-language film, starring Sneha Kumari in the title role, isolates a single 48-hour standoff in which 2,000 armed police and paramilitary personnel surrounded a village to capture her, then 17 years old.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of isolate

Browse Nearby Words

sliding
slight
slighted
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Cite this Entry

“Slight.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slight. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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