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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in small
small in degree only a slight chance of success

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
The weather pattern begins to shift Friday night, when a slight chance of showers develops under mostly cloudy skies. — The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Sun, 28 Sep. 2026 With slight updates—like a thoughtful display, reframing, or gentle restoration—these items can beautifully integrate into modern homes. — Kylie Petty, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2026
Noun
More than three decades after his prime, those omissions still clearly bother the seven-time Blue Jays All-Star, who offered an explanation for the slights. — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026 Skubal’s energy and edge are tools, sharpened over the years and ready to deploy against slights real or invented. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Verb
Luckily for Rhaena, Lady Jeyne is a pragmatist — and one who feels slighted by Rhaenyra. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 June 2026 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 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
  • This process can be even more pronounced in smaller galaxies in which the gravitational influence is weaker, and the black holes are less likely to be strongly bound to the galactic center.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Takaichi’s spending plans have drawn attention, raising concerns of debt sustainability and a weaker yen which have pushed Japanese bond yields to multidecade highs.
    — Chloe Taylor,Lee Ying Shan,Fred Imbert, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of weak
Adjective
  • The drawbacks of the home are more minor inconveniences than major considerations.
    — Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Stotko was struck by an e-moto being operated by a minor two years ago.
    — Nick Lunemann, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of minor
Adjective
  • Check-in and check-out are swift, valet has relatively little wait time, and the restaurant staff is accustomed to serving meals around performances at the Merrill Theater across the street.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Sep. 2026
  • That might be a big casserole of stuffing, a batch of chocolate chip cookies, or any situation in which adding too little salt would be a hard deficit to overcome later on.
    — Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of little
Adjective
  • Patients in Medicaid, the state- and federally-funded program for people with low incomes, already pay a nominal co-payment of a few dollars to fill their prescriptions, but lower prices could help state budgets that fund the programs.
    — Fatima Hussein, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
  • But recent wars have exposed the gap between nominal power and usable military capability.
    — NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of nominal
Adjective
  • Book the white, cream, and silver Diaghilev suite, which has double doors that open onto a small balcony with the bay of Positano at your feet.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, excess testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes the hair follicles to become smaller and then the hair strands to become thinner.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of small
Noun
  • Frazier was a Black sharecropper’s son who’d overcome much hardship, and the insults stung.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
  • That kind of insult to excellence can't happen in college football, since every Saturday matters and losing just a couple of games, even early in the season and to good teams by narrow margins, can end your hopes (see Notre Dame last season).
    — Bradley Gitz, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of insult
Verb
  • The danger here is not just offending the sensibilities of a group that the marketing team had not considered, but also that group sharing their offense with friends and relatives in their countries of origin.
    — Ivan Doruda, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The conflict potential is heightened for you, particularly that which finds you on the road, so take extra care to not accidentally offend the locals with behavior that wouldn’t necessarily be considered rude back home.
    — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of offend
Verb
  • The death toll has sparked widespread condemnation from global leaders and from human rights organizations, causing Israel to become increasingly isolated on the international stage.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • This entails limiting permissions, isolating sensitive systems, monitoring actions and maintaining controls outside the model itself.
    — Peter Garraghan, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of isolate

Browse Nearby Words

sliding
slight
slighted
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Slight.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slight. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All