mi·cro·scop·ic

[mahy-kruh-skop-ik]
adjective
1.
so small as to be invisible or indistinct without the use of the microscope: microscopic organisms. Compare macroscopic.
2.
very small; tiny.
3.
of, pertaining to, or involving a microscope: microscopic investigation.
4.
very detailed; meticulous: a microscopic view of society.
5.
suggestive of the precise use of the microscope; minute: microscopic exactness.
Also, mi·cro·scop·i·cal.


Origin:
1670–80; microscope + -ic

mi·cro·scop·i·cal·ly, adverb
non·mi·cro·scop·ic, adjective
non·mi·cro·scop·i·cal, adjective
non·mi·cro·scop·i·cal·ly, adverb
un·mi·cro·scop·ic, adjective
un·mi·cro·scop·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To microscopic
00:10
Microscopic is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
microscopic or microscopical (ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  Compare macroscopic not large enough to be seen with the naked eye but visible under a microscope
2.  very small; minute
3.  of, concerned with, or using a microscope
4.  characterized by or done with great attention to detail
 
microscopical or microscopical
 
adj
 
micro'scopically or microscopical
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

microscopic
"of minute size," 1760s; see microscope.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

microscopic mi·cro·scop·ic (mī'krə-skŏp'ĭk) or mi·cro·scop·i·cal (-ĭ-kəl)
adj.

  1. Too small to be seen by the unaided eye but large enough to be studied under a microscope.

  2. Of, relating to, or concerned with a microscope.

  3. Being or characterized as exceedingly small; minute.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
There, they feed on plankton and other microscopic fare pulled in through tiny
  pores.
The new regions appear as tiny, microscopic bubbles and immediately start to
  grow.
Even tiny barnacles take in microscopic fragments of the stuff, which then move
  up the food chain, with unknown consequences.
Yeast is a microscopic plant of fungous growth, and is the lowest form of
  vegetable life.
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