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slight definition

slight (slīt)

adjective

    1. light in form or build; not stout or heavy; slender
    2. frail; fragile
  2. having little weight, strength, substance, or significance a slight criticism
  3. small in amount or extent; not great or intense a slight fever

Etymology: ME (northern dial.) sliht < OE, kin to OHG sleht, straight, smooth: for IE base see slick

transitive verb

  1. to do carelessly or poorly; neglect
  2. to treat with disrespect or indifference; be discourteous toward
  3. to treat as unimportant

noun

a slighting or being slighted by pointedly indifferent, disrespectful, or supercilious treatment

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms slight idiom

slight Synonyms

slight

modif.

  1. Trifling

    insignificant, petty, piddling; see trivial, unimportant.

  2. Inconsiderable

    small, sparse, scanty; see inadequate 1.

  3. Delicate

    frail, slender, flimsy; see dainty 1.


slight

v.

disdain, snub, overlook; see neglect 1, scorn 2. See syn. study at neglect.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

slight Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • hand: Your anecdotes, metaphors and slight of hand brought so much life to the presentation.

Infinitive complement

  • make: And, nearly everything here is slight enough to make toilet tissue seem substantial.

Modifies a noun

  • fading: There is some slight fading of some of the World War II lettering on the side.

Modifying Another Word

  • comparatively: The defects in both of these tales are comparatively slight.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: Review A deceptively subtle episode which seems slight on the surface but actually contains many key themes and moments.
slight usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

slight quotes

I hate all that don't love me, and slight all that do.

-Farquhar, George

slight quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"slight." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/slight>

APA Style

slight. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/slight

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