as in small
of a size that is less than average
a smallish row of bushes lining the yard
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Recent Examples of smallish
Other than Costner, the show was largely populated with relatively unknown actors — Costner was clearly the big fish in this smallish pond.
—
Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
Before his death in 2023, Seidler had an especially close relationship with Preller and authorized previously unimaginable commitments for a smallish-market franchise.
—Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
An audience that paid $300-600 for tickets to see him in an uncharacteristically smallish venue would have expected — and got — a little more for their money than that.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 27 Sep. 2025
The building has kept some of this lightness of feeling all these years later, smallish and airy, its multiple exits and entrances providing the possibility of spontaneity.
—Katie Da Cunha Lewin
september 26, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Because of its smallish size, Kentucky’s capital (population 28,000) is a city where neighborliness and politics go hand in hand.
—Robin Roenker, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2025
Next is Boll’s bedroom, a smallish, enveloping cabin.
—Laura Bannister, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
Even though this smallish island was a fraction of the size of France, its capital markets enabled it to successfully finance its global contest with France, whose crude financial system was a severe handicap in financing those wars.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
Before his death in 2023, Seidler had an especially close relationship with Preller and authorized previously unimaginable commitments for a smallish-market franchise.
—Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
An audience that paid $300-600 for tickets to see him in an uncharacteristically smallish venue would have expected — and got — a little more for their money than that.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 27 Sep. 2025
The building has kept some of this lightness of feeling all these years later, smallish and airy, its multiple exits and entrances providing the possibility of spontaneity.
—Katie Da Cunha Lewin
september 26, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Because of its smallish size, Kentucky’s capital (population 28,000) is a city where neighborliness and politics go hand in hand.
—Robin Roenker, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2025
Next is Boll’s bedroom, a smallish, enveloping cabin.
—Laura Bannister, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
Even though this smallish island was a fraction of the size of France, its capital markets enabled it to successfully finance its global contest with France, whose crude financial system was a severe handicap in financing those wars.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smallish
Adjective
-
Designed for portability and performance The DGX Spark is small enough to fit in a backpack yet powerful enough to run modern AI reasoning models.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
-
The lasagna gets topped with a layer of small, early spring bulbs like crocuses.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Skeet is a diminutive figure with short, gray hair, and a round face with prominent cheeks.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Thankfully, most garages will accommodate both, as these are diminutive vehicles when compared to any American iron of the era.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, Bad Bunny has commented little, save for an SNL monologue poking fun at the situation.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
12 Oct. 2025
-
After Texas produced little in the run game at Florida, Wisner proved elusive, dodging and breaking tackles to produce chunk plays and keep Texas moving down the field.—
Sam Khan Jr,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In many respects, CDMS users receive the powerful anti-ship capabilities of a surface warfare vessel worth many hundreds of millions of dollars for just a tiny fraction of that price.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
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Spiders have venom to subdue prey, but the majority have fangs that are too tiny to puncture human skin.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smallish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smallish. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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