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slight - 10 dictionary results

slight

[slahyt] adjective, -er, -est, verb, noun
–adjective
1. small in amount, degree, etc.: a slight increase; a slight odor.
2. of little importance, influence, etc.; trivial: a slight cut.
3. slender or slim; not heavily built.
4. frail; flimsy; delicate: a slight fabric.
5. of little substance or strength.
–verb (used with object)
6. to treat as of little importance.
7. to treat (someone) with indifference; ignore, esp. pointedly or contemptuously; snub: to be slighted by society.
8. to do negligently; scamp: to slight one's studies.
–noun
9. an act or instance of slighting indifference or treatment: Slights marred his work.
10. a pointed and contemptuous discourtesy; affront: She considered not being invited an unforgivable slight.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME (adj.) smooth, sleek, slender; cf. OE -sliht- in eorth-slihtes even with ground; c. G schlicht, ON slēttr, Goth slaihts smooth


slighter, noun
slightly, adverb
slightness, noun


2. insignificant, trifling, paltry. 3. See slender. 4. weak, feeble, fragile. 5. unsubstantial, inconsiderable. 6. disdain, scorn. Slight, disregard, neglect, overlook mean to pay no attention or too little attention to someone or something. To slight is to give only superficial attention to something important: to slight one's work. To disregard is to pay no attention to a person or thing: to disregard the rules; in some circumstances, to disregard may be admirable: to disregard a handicap. To neglect is to shirk paying sufficient attention to a person or thing: to neglect one's correspondence. To overlook is to fail to see someone or something (possibly because of carelessness): to overlook a bill that is due. 9. neglect, disregard, inattention; disdain, scorn. 10. See insult.


1. considerable.
slight   (slīt)   
adj.   slight·er, slight·est
  1. Small in size, degree, or amount: a slight tilt; a slight surplus.
  2. Lacking strength, substance, or solidity; frail: a slight foundation; slight evidence.
  3. Of small importance or consideration; trifling: slight matters.
  4. Small and slender in build or construction; delicate.
tr.v.   slight·ed, slight·ing, slights
  1. To treat as of small importance; make light of.
  2. To treat with discourteous reserve or inattention.
  3. To do negligently or thoughtlessly; scant.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of slighting.
  2. A deliberate discourtesy; a snub: "It is easier to recount grievances and slights than it is to set down a broad redress of such grievances and slights" (Elizabeth Kenny).

[Middle English, slender, smooth, possibly of Scandinavian origin; see lei- in Indo-European roots.]
slight'ness n.

Slight

Slight\, n. Sleight. --Spenser.

Slight

Slight\, v. t. [Cf. D. slechten to level, to demolish.]

1. To overthrow; to demolish. [Obs.] --Clarendon.

2. To make even or level. [Obs.] --Hexham.

3. To throw heedlessly. [Obs.]

The rogue slighted me into the river. --Shak.

Slight

Slight\, a. [Compar. Slighter; superl. Slightest.] [OE. sli?t, sleght, probably from OD. slicht, slecht, simple, plain, D. slecht; akin to OFries. sliucht, G. schlecht, schlicht, OHG. sleht smooth, simple, Icel. sl?ttr smooth, Sw. sl["a]t, Goth. sla['i]hts; or uncertain origin.]

1. Not decidedly marked; not forcible; inconsiderable; unimportant; insignificant; not severe; weak; gentle; -- applied in a great variety of circumstances; as, a slight (i. e., feeble) effort; a slight (i. e., perishable) structure; a slight (i. e., not deep) impression; a slight (i. e., not convincing) argument; a slight (i. e., not thorough) examination; slight (i. e., not severe) pain, and the like. "At one slight bound." --Milton.

Slight is the subject, but not so the praise. --Pope.

Some firmly embrace doctrines upon slight grounds. --Locke.

2. Not stout or heavy; slender.

His own figure, which was formerly so slight. --Sir W. Scott.

3. Foolish; silly; weak in intellect. --Hudibras.

Slight

Slight\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Slighting.] To disregard, as of little value and unworthy of notice; to make light of; as, to slight the divine commands. --Milton.

The wretch who slights the bounty of the skies. --Cowper.

To slight off, to treat slightingly; to drive off; to remove. [R.] -- To slight over, to run over in haste; to perform superficially; to treat carelessly; as, to slight over a theme. "They will but slight it over." --Bacon.

Syn: To neglect; disregard; disdain; scorn.

Usage: Slight, Neglect. To slight is stronger than to neglect. We may neglect a duty or person from inconsiderateness, or from being over-occupied in other concerns. To slight is always a positive and intentional act, resulting from feelings of dislike or contempt. We ought to put a kind construction on what appears neglect on the part of a friend; but when he slights us, it is obvious that he is our friend no longer.

Beware . . . lest the like befall . . . If they transgress and slight that sole command. --Milton.

This my long-sufferance, and my day of grace, Those who neglect and scorn shall never taste. --Milton.

Slight

Slight\, n. The act of slighting; the manifestation of a moderate degree of contempt, as by neglect or oversight; neglect; indignity.

Syn: Neglect; disregard; inattention; contempt; disdain; scorn; disgrace; indignity; disparagement.

Slight

Slight\, adv. Slightly. [Obs. or Poetic]

Think not so slight of glory. --Milton.
Language Translation for : slight
Spanish: pequeño, ligero,
German: leicht,
Japanese: わずかな

slight  (adj.)
from an O.Scand. source akin to O.N. slettr "smooth, sleek," from P.Gmc. *slikhtaz (cf. O.S. slicht; Low Ger. slicht "smooth, plain common;" O.E. -sliht "level," attested in eorðslihtes "level with the ground;" O.Fris. sliucht, M.Du. sleht, O.H.G. sleht, Goth. slaihts "smooth"), probably from a collateral form of PIE base *sleig- "to smooth, glide." Sense evolution is from "level" to "smooth, sleek" (c.1300), to "slender, weak" (1393), to "trifling, inferior" (1548). The verb sense of "treat with indifference" is first recorded 1597, from the adj. sense of "having little worth." Sense of Ger. cognate schlecht developed from "smooth, plain, simple" to "bad," and as it did it was replaced in the original senses by schlicht, a back-formation from schlichten "to smooth, to plane," a derivative of schlecht in the old sense.
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