释义 |
slight /slʌɪt /adjective1Small in degree; inconsiderable: a slight increase a slight ankle injury the chance of success is very slight...- In virtually every case, however, the degree of degradation was slight enough to be inconsequential.
- Five of six genes, regardless of X or autosomal location, are increased in expression to a slight degree in mutant females.
- Now that mightn't be just be in number of cases, it might just be in slight increases in margin return over time.
Synonyms small, modest, little, tiny, minute, inappreciable, imperceptible, infinitesimal, hardly worth mentioning, negligible, inconsiderable, insignificant, minimal, marginal; remote, scant, slim, outside; faint, vague, subtle, gentle informal minuscule rare exiguous 1.1(Especially of a creative work) not profound or substantial; rather trivial or superficial: a slight romantic comedy...- The earliest concertos composed for square piano are slight works, diverting but lightweight.
- It's a slight work, but gives an insight into Puccini's early creativity.
- Abelard also wrote a slight work of practical advice for his son.
Synonyms minor, inconsequential, trivial, trifling, unimportant, lightweight, superficial, shallow, of little account, petty, paltry informal penny-ante British informal twopenny-halfpenny North American informal nickel-and-dime 2(Of a person or their build) not sturdy; thin or slender: she was slight and delicate-looking...- She was small, and thin, with a slight build, and dark, shoulder-length hair; I couldn't tell if it was black or dark brown.
- He was short, perhaps even a little smaller than she, and, despite his enveloping cloak, she suspected that he was slight in build as well.
- Except for the fact that his hair was a solid black, the thin, slight boy of about fifteen or sixteen bore an uncanny resemblance to Kunihiko.
Synonyms slim, slender, slightly built, petite, diminutive, small, delicate, dainty, small-boned, elfin; thin, skinny, size-zero, spare, puny, undersized, frail, weak; Scottish wee informal pint-sized, pocket-size rare gracile, attenuate verb [with object]1Insult (someone) by treating or speaking of them without proper respect or attention: he was desperate not to slight a guest...- Joey's management company, afraid that the film was slighting their dead client for Johnny, demanded that the film-makers find more interview footage of Joey before okaying the final cut.
- It seems Mr Wyatt thought the injured person slighted him in some way but this offence is totally out of character.
- They can be excessive in their devotions to Carlyle and Henry James and their denunciations can at times be annoying in slighting great writers such as Thackeray and Jane Austen.
Synonyms insult, snub, rebuff, repulse, spurn, treat disrespectfully, give someone the cold shoulder, cold-shoulder, brush off, turn one's back on, keep at arm's length, disregard, ignore, cut (dead), neglect, take no notice of, disdain, scorn informal give someone the brush-off, freeze out, stiff-arm, knock back informal, dated give someone the go-by rare misprize, scout insulting, disparaging, belittling, derogatory, disrespectful, denigratory, uncomplimentary, pejorative, abusive, offensive, defamatory, slanderous, libellous, scurrilous; disdainful, scornful, contemptuous informal bitchy archaic contumelious 2 archaic Raze or destroy (a fortification): a Council determined whether the Fort should be kept or slighted...- Temporarily Hadrian's Wall became redundant; gates were removed from the milecastles, and parts of the Vallum were deliberately slighted to form additional crossings.
- This establishment was severely damaged by flooding at the end of the second century and rebuilt in much the same form, only to be slighted during the barbarian incursions of AD 276.
- In recognition of the part that castles had played in the war, the majority of surviving buildings were deliberately slighted by the victorious parliamentarians.
nounAn insult caused by a failure to show someone proper respect or attention: an unintended slight can create grudges he was seething at the slight to his authority...- They can go to school, do everything right, and still not get that job, still deal with casual slights and insults, still get stopped by the police.
- However, between Hindu and Muslim communities, even rumors, supposed slights, or perceived insults can result in mass riots.
- All of us when we're in politics suffer real or imagined slights, insults, whatever, but the fact is they were bad things.
Synonyms insult, affront, slur, disparaging remark; snub, rebuff, rejection; spurning, cold-shouldering, disregard, rudeness, disrespect, disdain, scorn informal put-down, dig, brush-off, kick in the teeth, slap in the face Phrasesnot in the slightest the slightest —— Derivativesslightish adjective ...- Shepherd was of medium height and slightish build with a serious manner but a dry sense of humour.
- The stereotypes, of course, change: before, it was the dark hair, the small and small-boned haughty elegance, the slightish mouth.
- Shortish and slightish, he can appear spiky, but is more curious than combative.
slightness /ˈslʌɪtnəs/ noun ...- But sometimes when we are out, she still slips her hand into mine as we walk, and each time she does it, I feel the fragile-boned slightness of her hand and wonder, is this the last time?
- An innately talented midfielder with a sweet left foot and sharp brain, Dillon's slightness of stature is perhaps the only thing that prevents him making it at a higher level.
- It is possible to admire her amazing grace and athleticism, yet still be somewhat unnerved by the slightness of her frame.
OriginMiddle English; the adjective from Old Norse sléttr 'smooth' (an early sense in English), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slechts 'merely' and German schlicht 'simple', schlecht 'bad'; the verb (originally in the sense 'make smooth or level'), from Old Norse slétta. The sense ‘treat with disrespect’ dates from the late 16th century. slick from Middle English: Although it is not recorded until after the Norman Conquest, slick, originally meaning ‘glossy’ was probably in Old English as it is a Germanic word. The sense ‘plausible’ dates from the late 16th century; ‘skilful, adroit’ dates from the early 19th century. Sleek (Late Middle English) is a later variant of slick. Slight (Middle English) is related, for it originally meant ‘smooth’ although negative senses also exist in related languages. The sense ‘treat with disrespect’ is found from the late 16th century, from the earlier sense of ‘to level’. For sleekit
Rhymesaffright, alight, alright, aright, bedight, bight, bite, blight, bright, byte, cite, dight, Dwight, excite, fight, flight, fright, goodnight, height, ignite, impolite, indict, indite, invite, kite, knight, light, lite, might, mite, night, nite, outfight, outright, plight, polite, quite, right, rite, sight, site, skintight, skite, sleight, smite, Snow-white, spite, sprite, tight, tonight, trite, twite, underwrite, unite, uptight, white, wight, wright, write |