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
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
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
Abbas has steadily devolved into an erratic and small-minded authoritarian.
—Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
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
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
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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United, some of whose senior leadership team, including its chief executive, Scott Kirby, came from American, has done the opposite and is in the process of adding thousands of screens to narrow-body planes both new and old, including Bluetooth technology for wireless headphones.—
Leslie Josephs,
CNBC,
26 Oct. 2025
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The Fitzgerald was designed to carry as much cargo as possible and still fit through the narrow locks at Sault Ste.—
Kevin Duchschere,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
-
His first business ventures were reportedly an internet café and gaming centers in the provincial capital Fuzhou.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The spot, paid for by the Ontario provincial government and not the Canadian federal government, features the voice of former President Ronald Reagan, speaking during a radio address on April 25, 1987.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Viruses, as well as small bits of vegetation and invasive zebra mussel larvae, can hide in the plumbing of your rig.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Kahn is optimistic that Coach’s focus on a smaller number of affordable, yet consistent products puts it in a better place to manage cost and price increases than its competitors.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
New revelations tying the group’s top officers to a trove of racist, violent and bigoted messages present uncomfortable questions about who has been given opportunities to rise within the ranks of the organization and beyond in Kansas politics.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
18 Oct. 2025
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The vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue that has been reported is deeply disturbing.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But, God, to be able to play a Pablo Escobar who was just petty and wanted friends, there was something so stupid and so hilarious about that to me.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Oct. 2025
-
These can be petty but hard to avoid today.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
15 Oct. 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
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The deficient vice of being open-minded is being narrow-minded.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Daniels insisted the impact of the shutdown on air traffic controllers was not just insular and would continue to impact the aviation sector and broader American economy.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
20 Oct. 2025
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The recurrent staging only makes the show’s narrative feel more insular, which works fine when there’s forward momentum, but this one is stuck looking backward.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Small-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small-minded. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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