minimal
[
min
-
uh
-m
uh
l]
/ˈmɪn ə məl/
adjective
1.
constituting a
minimum
:
a minimal mode of transportation.
2.
barely adequate or the least possible:
minimal care.
Origin
1660-70;
minim(um)
+
-al
1
Related forms
minimally,
adverb
nonminimal,
adjective
subminimal,
adjective
Can be confused
minimal,
minimize
,
minimum
,
minuscule
,
minutia
(see usage note at
minuscule
)
Synonyms
2.
nominal, minimum.
Examples from the web for
minimal
Because a local anesthetic is used, discomfort during the procedure is usually
minimal
.
Hurley said, and complaints from students have been
minimal
.
My goal is to train for the marathon-and train well-with
minimal
disruption to my life.
We need to have an honest dialogue on what testing can be done with
minimal
impact on the research subject.
Its lobed feet-a feature that distinguishes it from ducks and loons-and agile legs provide lots of thrust and
minimal
drag.
It's
minimal
in terms of features, but it gets almost everything right.
Only a few half-inch incisions are made, and scarring is
minimal
.
Sad to say, the impact of the study's findings will probably be
minimal
.
The risk of one part contaminating another would be
minimal
.
After all, it delivers years and years of dependable hot water with
minimal
effort.
British Dictionary definitions for
minimal
minimal
/
ˈmɪnɪməl
/
adjective
1.
of the least possible; minimum or smallest
Derived Forms
minimally,
adverb
Word Origin and History for
minimal
adj.
"smallest, least," 1660s, from Latin
minimus
(see
minim
) +
-al
(1).