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Glite Dictionary
📏 Small size 💧 Weakness 🤏 Pettiness
littleness

littleness

8.7
Being mean about small things
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪtlnəs/
translation icon : mezquindad
  • The arguments over such minor details revealed the littleness of his concerns.

Examples

  • His constant focus on trivial matters showed his littleness of character.

  • Or had its littleness been his sole point?

    Fiction book (1995)

  • You will feel a deep satisfaction at your littleness, probably for the first time in years.

  • She was criticized for her littleness when she refused to help a colleague with a simple task.

Synonyms

pettiness
vslittleness
9 6.2

Being too worried about small unimportant things and not generous

is about lack of generosity especially over trivial matters
stinginess
vslittleness
1 6.8

A habit of not wanting to give or spend money

is more about meanness in trivial situations rather than general refusal to give
smallness
vslittleness
1 7.5

Being mean or petty about little things

is the same quality focused on meanness in trivial matters
uncharitableness
vslittleness
8.6

A lack of kindness or willingness to help others

is narrower focusing on meanness over trivial matters rather than general unkindness

Antonyms

generosity
128 2.1

Being kind and ready to give money, time, or help to others

magnanimity
  • Formal
3 8.5

Showing great kindness and forgiveness to an opponent or someone weaker

How Generous

generosity
128 2.1
kindness
297 1.0
littleness
8.7
stinginess
1 6.8
meanness
9 5.4

Surface Forms

littleness singular
littlenesses plural

Morphology

littleness = little (semi-transparent) = little + ness

The meaning 'pettiness or lack of generosity' is historically related to 'little' (i.e., mean or narrow-minded) but requires an additional pragmatic shift from size to moral/behavioural judgement, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Littleness comes from little meaning 'small', and it can describe a 'petty' or 'not generous' attitude, a smallness of heart or mind. So when people speak of someone's littleness, they mean pettiness or narrow thinking.