| 词汇 | thesaurus_articles_not-great-in-size-amount-etc |
| 释义 | not great in size, amount, etc.These words are all used of people or things that are not great or big in size, amount, degree, etc. The two most common words for this are small and little. They can often be used interchangeably. However, there are slight differences between the two. Small has the broadest meaning and can be used in most situations. It refers to a person or thing that is not as big as what is considered to be normal or average. I live in a small town. His room is small but organized. Put a small amount of water in a pan. She's small, so she should fit through the opening without any problem. Little is used more in spoken language than in written and can be more informal than small. Little by itself usually refers to size. It can be used to show affection, or sometimes dislike. It is often used between parents and children. You can use a little to refer to a small amount of something, and a little bit or a little to refer to a small degree. She's a good little girl. All he's interested in is hitting a stupid little ball into a hole. I just want a little ice cream. I was a little bit upset that she ate the last piece of cake. I'm a little busy at the moment. The opposite of small is large. Karachi is Pakistan's largest city. For more opposites of small, see the article at large. Tiny, minute, and minuscule mean very small. His body was covered in tiny red spots. Her baby is so tiny! Minute traces of explosives were found on his clothes. The cost of vaccination is minuscule compared to the cost of treatment. Things that are too small to be seen with the eyes and can only be seen with a microscope are microscopic or microscopically small. When these are used in a non-scientific way, they are often used informally and humorously to that something is very small. Microscopic particles can escape into the air. informal and humorous The portions at the new restaurant are microscopic! Microscopically small robots could be used in the body to operate on damaged tissue. informal and humorous The singer was wearing a pair of microscopically small gold hot pants. Infinitesimal is a formal word that emphasizes that something is extremely small. Homeopathy uses infinitesimal doses of natural substances to stimulate a person's immune system. If something is smaller than the normal type of that thing, its name sometimes includes the words dwarf or miniature. These words are not used of people, but only of animals, plants, and objects. She planted a dwarf cherry tree in the garden. It's a miniature bath for the doll's house. He has a miniature pony. If a person or thing is small in an attractive way, you can use the adjectives dainty or petite. Petite is an approving word. She had dainty feet. Emma was petite and shy. Exiguous is a formal word meaning very small in size or amount. In country areas, public transport is either not available or so exiguous as to be pointless. In informal contexts, you can use teensy, teeny, itsy-bitsy or, in UK English, weeny to say that something is extremely small. Mel has a teensy non-speaking cameo in the film. Weren't you even a teeny bit afraid? They are skilled at squeezing cars into itsy-bitsy spaces, UKHow can you see anything on that weeny little screen? Wee is a Scottish word for small that is sometimes used informally in standard English. He's just a wee little thing! The adjective slight is sometimes used with abstract nouns to describe amounts or degrees of change that are small and not important. There was a slight difference in colour. To talk about prices and temperatures that are not high, use the word low. At the moment, oil prices are low. For words meaning to become smaller see the article at decrease. |
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