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 momentum behind these ventures — the idea, unpalatable to many of us small-minded, provincial types, of taking domestic league matches abroad — remains strong.
—
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
But small-minded individuals, who happened to be blocking our path at any point in time, my goal was to get around them.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
Incremental development and half-measures got us into this problem; that small-minded thinking will not get us out of it.
—Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 9 June 2025
Identify 5 specific behaviors, habits, or thought patterns that would seem ridiculous or small-minded to someone playing at a higher level.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
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
Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian.
—Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
But small-minded individuals, who happened to be blocking our path at any point in time, my goal was to get around them.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
Incremental development and half-measures got us into this problem; that small-minded thinking will not get us out of it.
—Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 9 June 2025
Identify 5 specific behaviors, habits, or thought patterns that would seem ridiculous or small-minded to someone playing at a higher level.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
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
Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian.
—Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small-minded
Adjective
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During this time frame, a narrow, intense lake-effect snow band, only about 10 miles wide, will be capable of thunder, wind gusts near 35 mph and near-zero visibility at its peak.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The climb is infamous for its heart-pumping switchbacks and vertiginous jaunt along a narrow sliver of crag.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The move likely seeks to rein in parochial infighting between military branches, which compete for congressional funding every year despite Hegseth and the White House officially controlling the process.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The disagreement is colored by Maine’s parochial politics.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The State Department sanctioned the oligarch, a one-time provincial governor in Ukraine, and designated his wife and two children as ineligible for entry into the United States this past March 5.—
Olena Loginova,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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Burghers with no family interest in the results were there just to see who had fallen into the bottom 10 percent—that was a bigger draw than honoring the top 5 percent, who would sit the following month for the provincial round.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
At a time when the Mavericks need as much good will, or PR, as possible, filing a lawsuit against the Dallas Stars is petty, small and mean.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The Senate vote to temporarily reopen the government sparked intense controversy within the Democratic Party, as a small group of its senators joined Republicans in backing a deal that did not guarantee the extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, a key Democratic priority.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Just a few months ago, Carlson himself likened Fuentes to David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader, and accused Fuentes of being part of a campaign to say the most bigoted things possible to make the rest of the right look bad.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
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Another student, who identified herself as Hispanic, claimed Kirk held bigoted views towards Hispanics.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Beccuau said the suspects charged so far appear to be petty criminals and blue-collar workers from northern Paris suburbs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Nov. 2025
-
She also was cited on suspicion of disobeying a police officer, a petty offense that carries a fine.—
Nicquel Terry Ellis,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The deficient vice of being open-minded is being narrow-minded.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Integrative regions such as the temporal poles and insular cortex allow both positive and negative events to fit together, potentially into a framework that facilitates long-term well-being.—
Anthony Vaccaro,
Scientific American,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Longtime Mumford & Sons fans know that the group, when operating as a whole, has remained largely insular over the years, rarely venturing outside of their ranks for collaborative efforts under their singular moniker.—
Chris Barilla,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Small-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small-minded. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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