SLIGHTLY Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words

slightly

adverb

Definition of slightly

as in barely

by a very small margin I thought the first one was slightly better

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in little

in a very small quantity or degree he was slightly curious about the identity of the wine, but not enough to bother asking

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 slightly On one hand, England fans are swigging beer in the sun with a familiar slightly nervous look on their face as the pressure is now on their team to deliver. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 12 July 2026 Generally, rents have seen modest increases in coastal areas, while slightly declining in inland communities, though there are exceptions. — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2026 DraftKings slightly favors yes, while BetMGM favors no, but both sportsbooks are giving minus odds to yes and no. — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 12 July 2026 Florian Verhaeghe and Theo Attissogbe also scored before Australia crossed for a late consolation try that slightly reduced the margin but not the local concern over the Wallabies' run of nine losses in 10 tests. — ABC News, 11 July 2026 After all, the ones growing locally are not tropical plants but selections of a species found up the coast into Maryland and slightly north of there. — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2026 Netflix’s new Little House on the Prairie TV series also charts a slightly different path than the books or the original TV series. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026 Green olives, meanwhile, tend to be firmer and more briny, peppery and slightly more bitter. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 11 July 2026 Brugge is expected to accept a slightly higher bid with a future sale percentage. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for slightly

Adverb

McConnell, who at 84 is only the third-oldest member of the Senate, was admitted to the hospital on June 14 with barely any explanation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
From the first minute of the game, France looked off the pace and off color and barely laid a glove on Spain.

— Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 14 July 2026

Definition of barely

Adverb

Soon, those critics may be forced to accept that the Argentines are just too good and too gritty to be denied.

— Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 16 July 2026
With just six minutes plus stoppage time remaining, England appeared on the verge of advancing to its first World Cup final in 60 years.

— Andrew Greif, NBC news, 16 July 2026

Definition of just

Adverb

In practice, many MSOs grew too fast through acquisition to ever build that platform, ending up with different equipment, different extraction methods, and different SOPs for nominally identical products across their networks.

— Peter Su, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
But the only album Sly Stone released in the last 40 years of his life, nominally a solo album, is otherwise disappointingly devoted to revamping his group’s old hits.

— Al Shipley, SPIN, 7 July 2026

Definition of nominally

Adverb

In the Friday ruling, the judge wrote that the state did not attempt to prove the law met strict scrutiny — that the law both served a compelling government interest and was narrowly tailored.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026
Mentor is killed, but Telemachus narrowly escapes with his life thanks to Odysseus, who lays waste to the suitors in beggar garb.

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 17 July 2026

Definition of narrowly

Adverb

In an economy where wages are anchored to what compute would cost to replicate human work, human labor becomes economically marginal—not worthless, but negligibly small relative to the overall pie.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2026
In other words, the chin contributes negligibly to resisting chewing forces.

— Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026

Definition of negligibly

Adverb

Nationally, 61% of the 160 metro areas Pew studied were classified as somewhat or very unaffordable for young buyers in 2024 — up from just 41% in 2019.

— Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026
In sum, that means fewer than a tenth of all House seats are even somewhat competitive.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

Definition of somewhat

Browse Nearby Words

slighting

slightly

slightness

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Style

“Slightly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slightly. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of slightly

adverb

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