1
as in narrow
unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints
a small-minded man only concerned with his own well-being
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
resented the small-minded people who automatically opposed every new idea
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of small-minded
The way that Pliny saw it, astrology was small-minded fatalism, in which people glommed onto meaningless symbols for a sense of identity.
—
Maya Layne, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Their small-minded nature is justified through closeness, but really, everyone seems miserable, with their connections to Judaism existing in social standing only.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Clearly, the two men are supposed to represent competing visions of Britishness: the one tolerant and outward-looking, drawing on the country’s rich heritage as a way to move the culture forward, the other entitled and small-minded, invested in the past only as a tool of propaganda.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
This latest incident is yet another example of Trump’s small-minded, black-and-white thinking that denotes a simple mind unable to comprehend or consider policies that exist in the gray areas of governing.
—Robin Epley, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024
The customer base is more informed and to make small-minded temporary transactions based on the political climate is the wrong direction for any company.
—Rhett Buttle, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
The latter consist of several cartoon-like locals with high levels of bigotry and stupidity — the kind of small-minded, provincial Frenchmen and women featured in hit Gallic comedies like Serial Bad Weddings or the Tuche series.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Sep. 2024
Once seen as a promising peacemaker and political reformer, Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian with a virtually unbroken record of failure.
—Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
Some began noticing similar relics of a bygone time when unscripted television had to stick in a way to a small-minded script.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 31 July 2024
Maya Layne, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Their small-minded nature is justified through closeness, but really, everyone seems miserable, with their connections to Judaism existing in social standing only.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Clearly, the two men are supposed to represent competing visions of Britishness: the one tolerant and outward-looking, drawing on the country’s rich heritage as a way to move the culture forward, the other entitled and small-minded, invested in the past only as a tool of propaganda.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
This latest incident is yet another example of Trump’s small-minded, black-and-white thinking that denotes a simple mind unable to comprehend or consider policies that exist in the gray areas of governing.
—Robin Epley, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024
The customer base is more informed and to make small-minded temporary transactions based on the political climate is the wrong direction for any company.
—Rhett Buttle, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
The latter consist of several cartoon-like locals with high levels of bigotry and stupidity — the kind of small-minded, provincial Frenchmen and women featured in hit Gallic comedies like Serial Bad Weddings or the Tuche series.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Sep. 2024
Once seen as a promising peacemaker and political reformer, Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian with a virtually unbroken record of failure.
—Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
Some began noticing similar relics of a bygone time when unscripted television had to stick in a way to a small-minded script.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 31 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small-minded
Adjective
-
On Saturday, the narrow field caused both teams to adapt to tighter spaces and quicker play.—
Felipe Cardenas,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
-
Encircled by ancient stone walls, the village feels suspended in time, with narrow cobbled streets, where artisans’ shops, small galleries, and charming cafés are tucked into old white houses outlined in blue, blending seamlessly with the historic character.—
Monica Mendal,
Vogue,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The plum political prize, of course, will be deciding how congressional districts are drawn, perhaps giving this parochial court a major say in which party—and its preferred Speaker—gets to run the U.S. House.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
31 Mar. 2025
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There is nothing more parochial or bland than being a soft, white Anglican kid from Ottawa.—
Graydon Carter,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Whereas the Romans allied with provincial elites, enabling them to benefit from the empire’s success, the Han rulers attempted to weaken the local elites by forcing powerful families to resettle in or near the capital.—
Rosie McCall,
Discover Magazine,
8 Apr. 2025
-
One model he's suggested is that of a federal configuration divided into provincial units that could be tasked with local decision-making on issues such as education while still answering to a common central government.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In 2022, a consortium of private retirement-plan providers announced a collaboration to boost the portability of small retirement accounts.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
20 Apr. 2025
-
The sheriff’s office handles homicide investigations for several smaller municipalities within the county.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
No one else with direct access to the president has been as outwardly bigoted.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2025
-
Alas, when Roseanne Barr, who was warned to stay off social media, hit send on a bigoted tweet, she was removed from her own show.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Image In Davao, Mr. Duterte remains widely popular, remembered for cracking down on problems like drugs, petty crime and violence.—
Aie Balagtas See,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
-
Where Hub once pursued petty criminals, he’s now charged with rounding up escaped demons by the Devil himself.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Some people associate a frugal spender with a narrow-minded person who is a tightwad, a cheapskate, a penny-pincher, and worse of all an outright scrooge.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
18 Jan. 2025
-
People are going to take things and run with them and be narrow-minded or whatever or take something out of context.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
In this insular neighborhood, there was suddenly a risk of land passing to outside parties.—
Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Decision-making becomes more insular, leading to blind spots or second-guessing.—
Alex Brueckmann,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Small-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small-minded. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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