smallness
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small
(smôl)adj. small·er, small·est
1.
a. Being below average in size: a small car.
b. Being below average in quantity or extent: a small donation; a small project.
2. Limited in importance or significance; trivial: a small matter.
3. Having limited position, influence, or status; minor: "A crowd of small writers had vainly attempted to rival Addison" (Thomas Macaulay).
4. Unpretentious; modest: made a small living; helped the cause in my own small way.
5. Not fully grown; very young: a small child.
6. Narrow in outlook; petty: a small mind.
7. Having been belittled; humiliated: Their comments made me feel small.
8. Diluted; weak. Used of alcoholic beverages.
9. Lacking force or volume: a small voice.
10. Lowercase: Type the password in small letters.
adv.
1. In small pieces: Cut the meat up small.
2. Without loudness or forcefulness; softly.
3. In a small manner.
n.
1. A part that is smaller or narrower than the rest: the small of the back.
2. smalls
a. Small things considered as a group.
b. Chiefly British Small items of clothing.
[Middle English smal, from Old English smæl.]
small′ish adj.
small′ness n.
Synonyms: small, diminutive, little, miniature, minuscule, minute2, petite, tiny, wee1
These adjectives mean being notably below the average in size or magnitude: a small house; diminutive in stature; little hands; a miniature camera; a minuscule amount of rain; minute errors; a petite figure; tiny feet; a wee puppy.
These adjectives mean being notably below the average in size or magnitude: a small house; diminutive in stature; little hands; a miniature camera; a minuscule amount of rain; minute errors; a petite figure; tiny feet; a wee puppy.
Antonym: large
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Smallness
- As tiny as the glint of a silver dime in a mountain of trash —Elizabeth Spencer
- Big as a broom closet —Anon
This modern colloquialism usually applies to a small living or working space. A common variation often used with “No bigger than” is “As big as a shoe box.”
- Big as your thumbnail —Julian Gloag
- He [a very short man] with his chin up, gazing about as though searching for his missing inches —Helen Hudson
- Small and undistinguishable, like far-off mountains turned into clouds —William Shakespeare
- Small as a breadcrumb —Anon
- Small as a fly in the fair enormity of a night sky —Elizabeth Spencer
- Small as a garden pea —Lawrence Durrell
- Small as a snail —Babette Deutsch
The comparison describes the subject of a poem entitled The Mermaid.
- Small as grain of rice —Anon
- Small as sesame seed —Anon
- Small as snowflake —Anon
- Tight as a gnat’s cock —English expression used by engineers to describe an extremely small space
- (Paper ripped into pieces,) tiny as confetti —Ann Beattie
- (Jewelled chips) tiny as grass seed —Jayne Anne Phillips
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. | smallness - the property of having a relatively small size size - the physical magnitude of something (how big it is); "a wolf is about the size of a large dog" diminutiveness, minuteness, petiteness, tininess, weeness - the property of being very small in size; "hence the minuteness of detail in the painting" slightness, delicacy - smallness of stature grain - the smallest possible unit of anything; "there was a grain of truth in what he said"; "he does not have a grain of sense" dwarfishness - smallness of stature |
| 2. | smallness - the property of being a relatively small amount; "he was attracted by the smallness of the taxes" amount - the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion; "an adequate amount of food for four people" | |
| 3. | smallness - the property of having relatively little strength or vigor; "the smallness of her voice" weakness - the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain; "his weakness increased as he became older"; "the weakness of the span was overlooked until it collapsed" | |
| 4. | smallness - lack of generosity in trifling matters minginess, niggardliness, niggardness, tightfistedness, meanness, parsimoniousness, parsimony, closeness, tightness - extreme stinginess |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
smallness
nounContemptible unimportance:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
smallness
[ˈsmɔːlnɪs] N1. [of object, animal, room, hand, foot] → pequeñez f, lo chico (LAm); [of income, sum, contribution] → lo pequeño; (in height) [of person] → lo bajo, lo chaparro (LAm); [of problem] → insignificancia f; [of waist] → estrechez f; [of group, population] → lo poco numeroso; [of stock, supply] → lo reducido; [of print, writing] → pequeñez f, lo pequeño, lo menudo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
smallness
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
smallness
[ˈsmɔːlnɪs] n (gen) → piccolezza; (of person) → bassa statura; (of income, sum) → scarsitàCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995