small-minded

adjective

ˈsmȯl-ˈmīn-dəd How to pronounce small-minded (audio)
Definition of small-mindednext
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

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 small-minded But arguably the script by Jones and director Brunner might have been a skoosh more impactful if the small-minded townsfolk, clearly coded as bigoted MAGA types, weren’t quite so hateful with only a few exceptions. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026 It was delivered with sneers, an ugly, small-minded few minutes in support of the sclerotic, disdainful of dynamic change. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026 And among the small-minded, the idea of a female Bond remains unthinkable. — Judy Berman, Time, 15 July 2026 All those small-hearted, small-minded people, there’s a hell for you. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 25 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for small-minded
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small-minded
  1. narrow
  2. parochial
  3. provincial
  4. small
  5. bigoted
  6. petty
  7. narrow-minded
  8. insular
Adjective
  • FinFET transistors FinFETs are transistors with narrow silicon channels shaped like upright fins rather than flat structures.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Instead of insisting on playing through pressure, defenders cleared the ball when necessary, stayed compact and protected a narrow lead.
    — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of narrow
Adjective
  • And yet, bizarrely, what seems like an entirely parochial story will surely have legs worldwide.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The pair led an aggressive recruitment effort and injected parochial, populist policy proposals into its traditionally moderate platform.
    — Spencer Kimball,Garrett Downs,Dan Mangan,Kevin Breuninger,Justin Papp, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of parochial
Adjective
  • Gleb is a successful businessman, a Russian muzhik made good—wealthy, sturdy, practical—who owns a logistics company in a midsize, provincial city.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In March 2025, provincial liquor boards across Canada pulled American products from their shelves.
    — Soph Warnes, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of provincial
Adjective
  • Murphy said doctors diagnosed him with a small hemorrhagic stroke, which is a bleed in the brain.
    — Kevin Freking, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
  • This design improves control over unwanted current leakage as transistors become smaller.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of small
Adjective
  • Former broadcaster Mark Jones has posted several bigoted messages about Jokic.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Bishara Bahbah, who was once in favor of the Administration, speaks with Isaac Chotiner about his disappointment in the President’s bigoted rhetoric.
    — Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of bigoted
Adjective
  • The former sheriff claimed Luna has presided over a deep decline in department morale and staffing while being too soft on drug users, the homeless and petty criminals.
    — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Takeshi’s father is a petty and proud man, in ways continually expanded upon throughout the film’s runtime, though how he’s actually framed never truly changes.
    — Kambole Campbell, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • Now, our narrow-minded and hard-hearted lawmakers and education overseers do not want undocumented students in Florida to get a college education.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Debbie Duncan, director of talent acquisition at Northwestern Mutual, says one of the biggest mistakes new graduates can make is being narrow-minded with their job search.
    — Courtney Connley-Hampton, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026
Definition of narrow-minded
Adjective
  • Following the release of ChatGPT in 2022, OpenAI’s founding team found themselves on the other side of overnight fame—at least in the insular tech bubble of the Bay Area.
    — Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Every aspect of the program has been more insular and closed off.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of insular

Browse Nearby Words

smallish
small-minded
small-mindedness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Small-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small-minded. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gauntlet

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All