slight
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
slight¹
- /slaɪt/
- [slɑjt] British, Southern, Standard
- [sl̥ɐɪt] Canada, US
- [sl̥əɪ̯t] Canada, US
- /slaːt/
- /slɑɪt/ Australia, New Zealand
- /slɒɪt/ Australia, New Zealand
Sounds like sleight · Rhymes with -aɪt
Where it comes from
From Middle English slight (“bad, of poor quality, unimportant, trivial, slender, slim, smooth, level”), from Old English sliht (“smooth, level”), from Proto-Germanic *slihtaz (“slippery, flat, level, plain”), related to English slick. Cognate with Scots slicht (“bad, of poor quality”), West Frisian sljocht (“smooth, level, plain, simple”), Dutch slecht (“bad”), Low German slecht (“bad”), German schlecht (“bad”) and schlicht (“plain, artless, natural”), Danish slet (“bad, evil, poor, nasty, wrong”), Swedish slät (“smooth”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk slett (“even”), Icelandic sléttur (“even, smooth, level”).
adjective slighter · slightest
-
Minor; small in amount
The forecast calls for a slight warming trend in the coming days, with sunny skies and daytime temperatures reaching the midteens on Sunday and Monday, when the men will hit the snowboard course.
Similar: ignorable, meaningless, negligible, tiny, base, contemptible, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle
-
Gentle or weak, not aggressive or powerful.
give it a slight kick
Similar: ignorable, meaningless, negligible, tiny, base, contemptible, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle
-
Not thorough; superficial.
make a slight examination
Similar: ignorable, meaningless, negligible, tiny, base, contemptible, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle
-
Trifling; unimportant; insignificant.
we made a slight mistake
Similar: ignorable, meaningless, negligible, tiny, base, contemptible, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle
-
Not far away in space or time.
in the slight future
Similar: ignorable, meaningless, negligible, tiny, base, contemptible, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle
-
Of slender build.
a slight but graceful woman
Similar: lithe, svelte, willowy, gaunt, gracile, lank, lean, leansome, lithesome, lissome, rangy, sleek
-
Even, smooth or level.
A slight stone
Similar: flat, glassy, slick, downy, even, frictionless, lanate, level, silken, silklike, silky, sleek
- Still; with little or no movement on the surface. The sea was slight and calm
-
Foolish; silly; not intellectual.
But no beast ever was so slight,
For man, as for his god, to fight;
They have more wit, alas! and know
Themselves and us better than so.
Similar: daft, fatuous, soft in the head, asinine, balmy, barmy, bedaft, loony, derpy, dim-headed, dim-witted, dopey
-
Bad, of poor quality.
1889 (first published), George Washington, Writings
we frequently have slight Goods and sometimes old and unsaleable Articles
Similar: flimsy, lousy, shoddy, ass, bad, base, below par, bottom-shelf, BTEC, bum, cheap, cheap and nasty
-
Slighting; treating with disdain.
This slight way of treating both his book and his ancestors nettled little Puddock – who never himself took a liberty, and expected similar treatment – but he knew Sturk, the nature of the beast, and he only bowed grandly […]
Similar: contemptuous, disdainful, scornful, belittling, blistering, contumelious, deprecative, derogative, despising, dismissive, disrespectful, low
verb slights · slighting · slighted
-
To treat as unimportant or not worthy of attention; to make light of.
the wretch who slights the bounty of the skies
Similar: take lightly
-
To give lesser weight or importance to.
Incontiguously (accent on tig; the rest of the syllables slighted) means in an incontiguous manner.
Similar: belittle, bagatellize, banalize, cut down, de-emphasize, denigrate, degrade, deprecate, derogate, disparage, dispraise, downplay · Opposite: respect, value, esteem
-
To treat (someone or something) with disdain or neglect, usually out of prejudice, hatred, or jealousy; to ignore disrespectfully; to skimp on one's duties toward.
Though true of heart, she was somewhat of a coquette in manner; and I was jealous as a Turk. She slighted me in a thousand ways, yet would never acknowledge herself to be in the wrong. She would drive me mad with anger, and then force me to beg her pardon.
Similar: contemn, despise, despect, disrespect, disdain, disesteem, look down on, misrespect, scorn, spurn · Opposite: respect, honor, esteem, idolize, lay store by, look up to, prize, hallow, put store by, put store in, rate, regard
- To act negligently or carelessly.
- To render no longer defensible by full or partial demolition. When the parliament had finished the war , they reduced and slighted most of the inland garrison
- To make even or level. After your ground is sowne and harrowed, you shall then clotte it, sleight it, and smooth it.
-
To throw heedlessly.
The rogue slighted me into the river.
Similar: bung, hurl, soss, cast, chuck, chunk, cook, dash, dump, feck, fling, jerk
noun slights
-
The act of ignoring or snubbing; a deliberate act of neglect or discourtesy.
Never use a slighting expression to her, even in jest; for slights in jest, after frequent bandyings, are apt to end in angry earnest.
Similar: ignoring, neglect, belittlement · Opposite: respect
- Sleight. For till that stownd could never wight him harme, By subtilty, nor slight, nor might, nor mighty charme.
Slight²
Where it comes from
Scottish surname from Middle English slight (“smooth; slim, slender, skinny”), a nickname for a slim or skinny person.
proper noun Slights
- A surname from Middle English.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: little, tenuous, slender, slim, thin, flimsy, weak, cold-shoulder, disregard, ignore, neglect, rebuff, lean, mild, soft, lenient
Translations
Every language
adj small in amount, insignificant
| Español | insignificante, leve, ligero, lene, lieve |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 약간의 yakgan-ui |
| 日本語 | 僅な wazuka na, 些細な sasai na, 軽微な keibi na, 末梢的な masshōteki na, つまらない tsumaranai, ちょっとした chottoshita |
| 中文 | 輕微的 /轻微的 qīngwēi de |
| हिन्दी | थोड़ा thoṛā |
| Português | insignificante, ligeiro, leve |
| Français | insignifiant, léger |
| Deutsch | geringfügig, leicht, gering, unbedeutend, wenig, schlank |
| Italiano | insignificante, leggero, debole, lieve |
| Русский | незначи́тельный neznačítelʹnyj |
| العربية | طَفِيف ṭafīf |
adj not stout or heavy; slender
| Deutsch | schlank, schmächtig, dünn, zart, gebrechlich |
|---|
adj even, smooth or level
| Deutsch | glatt, gleichmäßig, eben |
|---|
adj weak in intellect
| Deutsch | minderbemittelt, einfach, dumm, einfach gestrickt, schlicht |
|---|
adj of poor quality
| Deutsch | einfach, schlecht, minderwertig, billig |
|---|
verb to treat with a lack of respect; to make light of
| 日本語 | 軽んじる karonjiru, 賎しめる iyashimeru, 軽視する keishi suru |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 忽視 /忽视 hūshì, 輕視 /轻视 qīngshì, 侮慢 wǔmàn |
| Deutsch | vernachlässigen, kränken, zurücksetzen, beleidigen, abschätzig behandeln, geringschätzig behandeln |
| Italiano | disprezzare |
verb to give lesser weight or importance
| Deutsch | herabsetzen, verharmlosen, schmälern, nicht betonen, abmindern, herabmindern |
|---|---|
| Italiano | sminuire |
verb to treat with disdain or neglect
| Deutsch | kränken, missachten, verachten, beleidigen |
|---|
noun act of slighting
| Español | falta de respeto |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 軽視 keishi |
| 中文 | 忽視 /忽视 hūshì |
| Deutsch | Geringschätzung, Kränkung, Herabschätzung, Beleidigung |
Talk about this word "slight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/slight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. slight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/slight "slight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/slight.Cite this
@misc{slight_2026,
title = {slight},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/slight},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
