Synonyms of little

little 1 of 3

adjective

ˈli-tᵊl 

1

as in short

having relatively little height

there was a little hedge separating the two lawns

Synonyms & Similar Words

• short
• small
• tiny
• slight
• low
• low-lying
• low-slung
• dwarf
• sawed-off
• wee
• petite
• compact
• diminutive
• dwarfish
• miniature
• teeny
• smallish
• bitty
• mini
• pocket
• flat
• puny
• dinky
• pygmy
• pocket-size
• minute
• undersized
• half-pint
• stubby
• squat
• dumpy
• scrubby
• stunted
• minimized
• squatty
• stumpy
• teeny-weeny
• pint-size
• bantam

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• high
• tall
• lofty
• lifted
• towering
• elevated
• raised
• uplifted
• large
• big
• statuesque
• lanky
• sizable
• high-rise
• altitudinous
• bulky
• rangy
• hefty
• voluminous
• upswept
• oversize
• outsize
• largish
• gangling
• gangly
• hulking

2

as in small

lacking importance

there were just a few little details left to take care of

Synonyms & Similar Words

• small
• minor
• slight
• worthless
• trivial
• unimportant
• insignificant
• trifling
• minute
• incidental
• foolish
• inconsiderable
• frivolous
• negligible
• petty
• inconsequential
• fiddling
• neither here nor there
• nugatory
• small-fry
• Mickey Mouse
• one-horse
• obscure
• anonymous
• small-time
• jerkwater
• unknown
• paltry
• nickel-and-dime
• nameless
• uncelebrated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• significant
• substantial
• big
• important
• major
• meaningful
• momentous
• eventful
• consequential
• weighty
• decisive
• material
• dominant
• fatal
• principal
• prominent
• chief
• valuable
• remarkable
• impressive
• great
• distinctive
• fateful
• outstanding
• worthy
• overbearing
• exceptional
• overriding
• worthwhile
• basic
• distinguished
• unfrivolous
• eminent
• famous
• fundamental
• illustrious
• essential
• key
• notorious
• prestigious
• overmastering
• all-important
• renowned
• preeminent

3

as in narrow

not broad or open in views or opinions

little-minded people who dislike the fact that human society is always progressing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• small
• narrow
• parochial
• petty
• provincial
• insular
• stubborn
• sectarian
• picayune
• narrow-minded
• Lilliputian
• illiberal
• small-minded
• rigid
• limited
• obstinate
• partisan
• partial
• bigoted
• biased
• reactionary
• obdurate
• intolerant
• discriminatory
• wrongheaded
• stodgy
• old-fashioned
• ironbound
• opinionated
• jaundiced
• dogmatic
• discriminating
• unyielding
• inflexible
• straitlaced
• prejudiced
• hidebound
• stuffy
• unsophisticated
• set
• one-sided
• opinionative
• hick
• brassbound

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberal
• open
• receptive
• cosmopolitan
• tolerant
• catholic
• objective
• impartial
• unbiased
• unprejudiced
• broad-minded
• nonpartisan
• open-minded
• freethinking

4

as in brief

not lasting for a considerable time

let's take a little pause to relax

Synonyms & Similar Words

• brief
• short
• sudden
• concise
• fast
• condensed
• momentary
• fleeting
• curtailed
• transient
• transitory
• abbreviated
• compact
• ephemeral
• syncopated
• shortened
• shortish
• abridged
• summary
• pithy
• abrupt
• short-lived
• succinct
• terse
• short-term
• laconic
• crisp
• epigrammatic
• cut-back
• short-range
• impermanent
• compendious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• long
• great
• far
• lengthy
• extended
• persistent
• endless
• unending
• everlasting
• prolonged
• interminable
• protracted
• permanent
• long-drawn-out
• long-lived
• enlarged
• longish
• overlong
• long-term
• long-range
• expanded
• supplemented

5

as in diminutive

of a size that is less than average

the petting zoo has a little horse in addition to all of the goats and sheep

Synonyms & Similar Words

• small
• diminutive
• tiny
• pocket
• slight
• fine
• miniature
• sparse
• puny
• smallish
• dinky
• undersized
• dwarf
• dwarfish
• poor
• pygmy
• slender
• pocket-size
• spare
• lacking
• half-pint
• mini
• subnormal
• stunted
• Lilliputian
• shrimpy
• minuscule
• miniaturized
• pint-size
• toylike
• wee
• bantam
• microscopic
• teeny
• teensy
• insufficient
• bitty
• micro
• scarce
• toy
• inadequate
• scant
• meager
• scrubby
• minute
• infinitesimal
• skimpy
• scanty
• slim
• weeny
• little bitty
• inappreciable
• stingy
• pinpoint
• minim
• wanting
• teensy-weensy
• runty
• teeny-weeny
• deficient
• runtish
• capsule
• minikin
• skimp
• bite-size

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• large
• considerable
• substantial
• big
• great
• sizable
• handsome
• grand
• huge
• goodly
• massive
• whopping
• enormous
• tremendous
• husky
• tidy
• vast
• giant
• bulky
• oversize
• hefty
• voluminous
• gigantic
• outsize
• immense
• gross
• ample
• appreciable
• mountainous
• colossal
• abundant
• generous
• liberal
• prodigious
• monumental
• staggering
• monstrous
• heroic
• stupendous
• mammoth
• galactic
• healthy
• copious
• plentiful
• jumbo
• gargantuan
• largish
• cavernous
• monolithic
• biggish
• thick
• wide
• titanic
• boxcar
• bountiful
• herculean
• broad
• fat
• whacking
• overscale
• king-size
• Himalayan
• plenteous
• humongous
• enough
• hulking
• sufficient
• adequate
• elephantine
• infinite
• cosmic
• cyclopean
• boundless
• pharaonic
• Brobdingnagian
• leviathan
• immeasurable
• incalculable
• Bunyanesque

little

2 of 3

adverb

1

as in slightly

in a very small quantity or degree

we had little more than we needed to survive in the wilderness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slightly
• nominally
• just
• a trifle
• negligibly
• a bit
• barely
• scarcely
• marginally
• minimally
• meagerly
• scantily
• hardly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• very
• something
• far
• most
• extra
• too
• much
• so
• extremely
• significantly
• especially
• considerably
• particularly
• substantially
• highly
• real
• exceedingly
• heavily
• terribly
• greatly
• super
• awfully
• entirely
• mighty
• right
• full
• completely
• extensively
• totally
• purely
• thoroughly
• deadly
• rattling
• utterly
• mightily
• mortally
• exceptionally
• frightfully
• noticeably
• eminently
• jolly
• awful
• appreciably
• beastly
• palpably
• whacking
• abundantly
• generously
• liberally
• discernibly
• handsomely
• hugely
• plentifully
• monstrously
• monumentally
• astronomically
• grandly

2

as in rarely

not often

he's been studying very little for the bar exam

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rarely
• seldom
• infrequently
• sporadically
• never
• sometimes
• once in a blue moon
• occasionally
• irregularly
• now and then
• ne'er
• episodically

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• often
• frequently
• usually
• generally
• oft
• oftentimes
• ordinarily
• always
• routinely
• customarily
• ever
• habitually
• forever
• constantly
• invariably
• continually
• continuously
• endlessly
• perpetually
• eternally
• repeatedly
• chronically
• perennially
• everlastingly
• unceasingly
• evermore
• recurrently

little

3 of 3

noun

as in bit

a very small amount

there's just a little of the pie left

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bit
• glimmer
• sprinkling
• splash
• shred
• hint
• speck
• tad
• touch
• lick
• handful
• spark
• trace
• particle
• dab
• ounce
• sliver
• smack
• smidgen
• mite
• ray
• streak
• crumb
• suspicion
• peanuts
• scintilla
• smell
• dram
• spatter
• minimum
• pinch
• shade
• spot
• bite
• fleck
• strain
• portion
• scruple
• nip
• skosh
• dash
• shadow
• ace
• soupçon
• drop
• dose
• drop in the bucket
• grain
• part
• taste
• modicum
• whit
• snap
• driblet
• semblance
• molecule
• iota
• jot
• section
• vestige
• syllable
• mote
• dot
• nibble
• patch
• tittle
• atom
• fragment
• smattering
• minim
• granule
• morsel
• scrap
• hoot
• scattering
• flyspeck
• nubbin
• flake
• splinter
• shiver
• shard
• smatter
• chip
• clipping
• tatter
• shaving
• paring
• smithereens
• shot

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lot
• plenty
• loads
• quantity
• pile
• wealth
• heaps
• abundance
• mountain
• mass
• deal
• mess
• bundle
• bucket
• stack
• barrel
• raft
• bushel
• profusion
• volume
• wad
• peck
• fistful
• reams
• much
• excess
• boatload
• gobs
• surplus
• oodles
• scads
• lashings
• passel
• embarrassment
• overflow
• potful
• surfeit
• overabundance
• bonanza
• superabundance
• chunk
• slab
• superfluity
• overage
• oversupply
• lump
• hunk
• overkill
• overmuch

Synonym Chooser

How is the word little distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of little are diminutive, miniature, minute, small, and tiny. While all these words mean "noticeably below average in size," little is more absolute in implication often carrying the idea of petiteness, pettiness, insignificance, or immaturity.

your pathetic little smile

When is diminutive a more appropriate choice than little?

Although the words diminutive and little have much in common, diminutive implies abnormal smallness.

diminutive bonsai plants

In what contexts can miniature take the place of little?

The synonyms miniature and little are sometimes interchangeable, but miniature applies to an exactly proportioned reproduction on a very small scale.

a dollhouse with miniature furnishings

When would minute be a good substitute for little?

The words minute and little can be used in similar contexts, but minute implies extreme smallness.

a minute amount of caffeine in the soda

How are the words small and little related?

Both small and little are often interchangeable, but small applies more to relative size determined by capacity, value, number.

a relatively small backyard

How do tiny and minute relate to one another, in the sense of little?

Tiny is an informal equivalent to minute.

tiny cracks formed in the painting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of little

Adjective

But little is known about how, exactly, information spreads across these mycelial networks. —ArsTechnica, 2 May 2026

Residents of Orlando’s high-tech economic engine of Lake Nona have little in common with landowners in rural communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee and the citrus farmers of Indian River. —Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 May 2026

Adverb

Shares have been little changed in the past three months. —Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 27 Apr. 2026

Derek Muller, an election law expert, suggests that scenario is little more than a fever dream of doomsday devotees and overly nervous Nellies. —Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026

Noun

There are a host of other things available to entertain your littles, tweens, and teens around town, including The Butterfly Conservatory, Eco-Discovery Center, Shipwreck Museum, and Truman Waterfront Park’s splash pad. —Ronny Maye, Essence, 1 Feb. 2026

More than half of littles were developmentally ready for kindergarten. —Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 4 Jan. 2026

Phrases Containing little

• Chicken Little
• a little
• little bitty
• little by little
• little guy
• little man