slight

[slahyt] /slaɪt/

adjective, slighter, slightest.

small in amount, degree, etc.:

a slight increase; a slight odor.

of little importance, influence, etc.; trivial:

a slight cut.

slender or slim; not heavily built.

frail; flimsy; delicate:

a slight fabric.

of little substance or strength.

verb (used with object)

to treat as of little importance.

to treat (someone) with indifference; ignore, especially pointedly or contemptuously; snub:

to be slighted by society.

to do negligently; scamp:

to slight one's studies.

noun

an act or instance of slighting indifference or treatment:

Slights marred his work.

10.

a pointed and contemptuous discourtesy; affront:

She considered not being invited an unforgivable slight.

Origin

1250-1300; Middle English (adj.) smooth, sleek, slender; compare Old English -sliht- in eorth-slihtes even with ground; cognate with German schlicht, Old Norse slēttr, Gothic slaihts smooth

Related forms

slighter, noun

slightly, adverb

slightness, noun

overslight, adjective

unslighted, adjective

Synonyms

2. insignificant, trifling, paltry. 3. See slender. 4. weak, feeble, fragile. 5. unsubstantial, inconsiderable. 6. disdain, scorn. Slight, disregard, neglect, overlook mean to pay no attention or too little attention to someone or something. To slight is to give only superficial attention to something important: to slight one's work. To disregard is to pay no attention to a person or thing: to disregard the rules; in some circumstances, to disregard may be admirable: to disregard a handicap. To neglect is to shirk paying sufficient attention to a person or thing: to neglect one's correspondence. To overlook is to fail to see someone or something (possibly because of carelessness): to overlook a bill that is due. 9. neglect, disregard, inattention; disdain, scorn. 10. See insult.

Antonyms

1. considerable.

Examples from the web for slight

Do not despise an insignificant enemy nor a slight wound.
Small and slight for their age, both were outsiders.
He has a slight build, skinny arms and legs, and a head almost too big for his body.
In this system, any slight kick would have ejected a small blob of molten rock into orbit.
Even a slight delay can leave departments at a disadvantage.
Some showed slight damage near the feet, probably the result of ancient robbers rummaging for riches, experts said.
The ability to learn new motor skills is affected by a slight genetic variation.
Buttermilk's slight acidity helps activate baking soda and make bread rise.
In fact, this model retains the slight plastic lip on the lower-back part of the handset.
Different human populations today have, on average, slight differences in cranial features.

British Dictionary definitions for slight

slight

/slaɪt/

adjective

small in quantity or extent

of small importance; trifling

slim and delicate

lacking in strength or substance

(Southwest English, dialect) ill

verb (transitive)

to show indifference or disregard for (someone); snub

to treat as unimportant or trifling

(US) to devote inadequate attention to (work, duties, etc)

noun

an act or omission indicating supercilious neglect or indifference

Derived Forms

slightness, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old Norse slēttr smooth; related to Old High German slehtr, Gothic slaihts, Middle Dutch slecht simple

Word Origin and History for slight

adj.

early 14c., "flat, smooth; hairless," probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse slettr "smooth, sleek," from Proto-Germanic *slikhtaz (cf. Old Saxon slicht; Low German slicht "smooth, plain common;" Old English -sliht "level," attested in eorðslihtes "level with the ground;" Old Frisian sliucht "smooth, slight," Middle Dutch sleht "even, plain," Old High German sleht, Gothic slaihts "smooth"), probably from a collateral form of PIE *sleig- "to smooth, glide, be muddy," from root *(s)lei- "slimy" (see slime (n.)).

Sense evolution probably is from "smooth" (c.1300), to "slim, slender; of light texture," hence "not good or strong; insubstantial, trifling, inferior, insignificant" (early 14c.). Meaning "small in amount" is from 1520s. Sense of German cognate schlecht developed from "smooth, plain, simple" to "bad, mean, base," and as it did it was replaced in the original senses by schlicht, a back-formation from schlichten "to smooth, to plane," a derivative of schlecht in the old sense [Klein].

c.1300, "make plain or smooth," from slight (adj.) Meaning "treat with indifference" (1590s) is from the adjective in sense of "having little worth." Related: Slighted; slighting.

1550s, "small amount or weight," from slight (v.). Meaning "act of intentional neglect or ignoring out of displeasure or contempt" is from 1701, probably via 17c. phrase make a slight of (1610s).

Idioms and Phrases with slight

slight

see: in the least (slightest)