Nearby Words

slightly

[slahyt] Example Sentences Origin

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, especially pointedly or contemptuously; snub: to be slighted by society.
8.
to do negligently; scamp: to slight one's studies.

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Slightly is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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; Middle English (adj.) smooth, sleek, slender; compare Old English -sliht- in eorth-slihtes even with ground; cognate with German schlicht, Old Norse slēttr, Gothic slaihts smooth

slight·er, noun
slight·ly, adverb
slight·ness, noun
o·ver·slight, adjective
un·slight·ed, adjective


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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Example Sentences
  • Focus your search on a slightly longer commute to campus and see what you find.
  • As those restraints have lifted, activity has improved slightly.
  • Two-toed sloths are slightly larger than their three-toed relatives.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
slightly (ˈslaɪtlɪ)
 
adv
in small measure or degree

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

slight
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
EXPAND
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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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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