little
- adjective
- /ˈlɪtəl/
- Is it time you grew up and learned a little compassion as well as admiration?
- little impact
- little change
- little effect
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Watch on YouTubeAnd you know, that's a bad little cyclone for me.
- And you know, that's a bad little cyclone for me.
- And early on I had a little success with that.
Examples
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And that's where religion can be a little toxic.
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Today, most people feel that they have little to say about what governments do.
Academic text (2017) -
And early on I had a little success with that.
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I have no face and little will of my own.
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And I felt a little bad inside that,
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Why does losing a little hurt more than winning a lot?
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To date, however, they have attracted relatively little attention in the academic literature.
Academic text (2017) -
Yet the scope of their efforts has often received little attention outside the tribal community.
Academic text (2017) -
The lighting was bright, and the audience was a little hesitant to cheer during performances.
Academic text (2011) -
Many people dismissed his concerns as little and not worthy of discussion.
Synonyms
Not large in size or amount
Small in amount or degree
Not very important or serious
Showing that something is only small and not important
Small and unimportant in position or power
Very small in amount or degree
Not important or serious
An informal word that shows something is small
Not important and not well known, often used for people or small businesses
Very small or unimportant and not worth worrying about
Only a very small amount remains
Very small and not important
A small annoying problem or worry that does not need serious attention
Small and not important
Small in amount and not important
Too small or not important to matter
Unimportant and not worth attention
Small in size or not very important
Very small or unimportant
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
A modest, joking way to talk about yourself when you get praise or attention
- Informal
You say this when you hear something but do not say who told you
- Informal
A playful phrase that says another person or pet is welcome too
A peaceful small-town feeling with friendly neighbors like in old TV shows
- Informal
A small, disappointing thing that does not help enough
- Informal
To make decisions using feelings instead of careful thought
Compounds
An organized baseball and softball league for children with teams, games, and coaching
- Literature
A girl in a famous fairy tale who meets a wolf while visiting her grandmother
- Literature
A person who panics about small problems and warns others without reason
- Baby Talk
A traditional English children's rhyme that counts toes while a parent wiggles them
A child between eight and twelve who plays on an organized youth baseball team
A group of seven stars that look like a small spoon in the northern sky with Polaris at its handle
A young woman who seems unhappy or lonely even though she has a lot of money
A small thing that helps a parent get through the day, like a drink, medicine, or tool
A 1876 battle in Montana where United States soldiers led by Custer lose to Sioux and Cheyenne warriors
- Literature
A soldier in green with no badge sent so a country can deny sending them
- Offensive
A child who is spoiled because parents give them everything they want
A river that flows from northern Wyoming into the Bighorn River in southern Montana known for Custer's Last Stand
A river in the western United States famous for the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn
- Offensive
A person who follows orders without thinking, often in a large organization
An 1876 battle in Montana where General Custer's soldiers were defeated by Sioux and Cheyenne
A river in the north-central United States that starts in northeast Wyoming and joins the Missouri River in North Dakota
A small brown flying animal common in North America that sleeps in houses and forests
- UK
A small white bird with a thin black bill that lives by rivers and catches fish
- Offensive
A person who has narrow views about other countries and England's place in the world
- Specialized
A small low plant with short leafy stems and small round yellow orange flowers
A small animal like a rabbit that lives in rocky mountain areas in North America
A very small shiny black insect that lives in groups and often comes into houses for food
A small group of stars in the northern sky east of Orion that contains the bright star Procyon
- Offensive
A man's sexual feelings or other emotions that make him act without thinking
How Important
Surface Forms
Etymology
Little comes from the old English word lytel, which means 'small'. From that idea of 'small' it also came to mean 'not important' or 'not serious', so we call small problems 'little' problems.