Definitions

small

[smawl] / smɔl /

ADJECTIVE

tiny in size, quantity

Synonyms

STRONGEST

cramped limited meager microscopic miniature minuscule modest narrow paltry poor short slight small-scale young

STRONG

baby bantam diminutive little mini minute petite petty scanty shrimp toy trifling wee

WEAK

bitty humble immature inadequate inconsequential inconsiderable insufficient picayune piddling pint-sized pitiful pocket-sized puny runty scrubby stunted teensy teeny trivial undersized unpretentious

Antonyms

STRONGEST

adequate big fat great huge important large liberal rich significant substantial sufficient tall thick unlimited unrestricted wealthy wide

STRONG

consequential giant useful

WEAK

benevolent broad-minded considerate distinguished enormous excellent famous fine generous giving immense kind untrivial

ADJECTIVE

unimportant

Synonyms

STRONGEST

insignificant light limited minor narrow negligible paltry

STRONG

inferior lower mean minute petty secondary set trifling

WEAK

bush-league inadequate inconsiderable ineffectual lesser minor-league small-fry small-time trivial unessential

Antonyms

STRONGEST

important major significant substantial unrestricted

STRONG

consequential first-class first-rate superior useful

WEAK

benevolent big broad-minded considerate distinguished enormous excellent famous fine generous giving huge immense kind large untrivial

ADJECTIVE

narrow-minded, nasty

Synonyms

STRONGEST

limited narrow

STRONG

base little mean petty set

WEAK

grudging ignoble illiberal selfish vulgar

Antonyms

STRONGEST

unrestricted

STRONG

important noble

WEAK

benevolent big broad-minded considerate distinguished enormous excellent famous fine generous giving huge immense kind large untrivial

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I’m a huge fan of small retail investors,” he wrote in a 2020 tweet about a potential public offering of SpaceX or its Starlink business.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

If it were true, he quipped, a small country like Singapore would have been swallowed by its neighbors a long time ago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

Anthropic said on Tuesday that it is launching Claude Mythos 5 for a small group of “cyberdefenders and infrastructure providers.”

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

But the ASA said the way the testing was conducted "was a significant limitation" as there was no placebo group, and the sample size was "relatively small".

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

Phineas has a huge scar on his forehead and a small scar under his cheekbone, but otherwise he is physically healed.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

small

Example Sentences

Related Words