minute 1 of 3

Definition of minutenext

minute

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adjective

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minute

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective minute differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of minute are circumstantial, detailed, and particular. While all these words mean "dealing with a matter fully and usually point by point," minute implies close and searching attention to the smallest details.

a minute examination of a fossil

In what contexts can circumstantial take the place of minute?

The synonyms circumstantial and minute are sometimes interchangeable, but circumstantial implies fullness of detail that fixes something described in time and space.

a circumstantial account of our visit

When might detailed be a better fit than minute?

Although the words detailed and minute have much in common, detailed stresses abundance or completeness of detail.

a detailed analysis of the event

When is particular a more appropriate choice than minute?

The words particular and minute can be used in similar contexts, but particular implies a precise attention to every detail.

a particular description of the scene of the crime

How does the adjective minute differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of minute are circumstantial, detailed, and particular. While all these words mean "dealing with a matter fully and usually point by point," minute implies close and searching attention to the smallest details.

a minute examination of a fossil

In what contexts can circumstantial take the place of minute?

The synonyms circumstantial and minute are sometimes interchangeable, but circumstantial implies fullness of detail that fixes something described in time and space.

a circumstantial account of our visit

When might detailed be a better fit than minute?

Although the words detailed and minute have much in common, detailed stresses abundance or completeness of detail.

a detailed analysis of the event

When is particular a more appropriate choice than minute?

The words particular and minute can be used in similar contexts, but particular implies a precise attention to every detail.

a particular description of the scene of the crime

How does the adjective minute differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of minute are circumstantial, detailed, and particular. While all these words mean "dealing with a matter fully and usually point by point," minute implies close and searching attention to the smallest details.

a minute examination of a fossil

In what contexts can circumstantial take the place of minute?

The synonyms circumstantial and minute are sometimes interchangeable, but circumstantial implies fullness of detail that fixes something described in time and space.

a circumstantial account of our visit

When might detailed be a better fit than minute?

Although the words detailed and minute have much in common, detailed stresses abundance or completeness of detail.

a detailed analysis of the event

When is particular a more appropriate choice than minute?

The words particular and minute can be used in similar contexts, but particular implies a precise attention to every detail.

a particular description of the scene of the crime

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of minute
Noun
For a Nets team that has watched too many games slip in the same way, the early minutes of the fourth carried a familiar warning. C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2026 If authority demands alterations to your plans at the last minute, suggest a practical adjustment that preserves quality, because enduring leadership earns trust without drama. Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Her little foot bears thousands of minute muscular setae that grip and clasp like the toes of a mighty gecko. Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026 Anthropic took a swing at OpenAI’s plans to bring ads to ChatGPT with its minute-long spot. Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 9 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for minute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for minute
Noun
  • Johnson returned to the fund for a clean second, before things went sideways again in the third, starting with a Nico Hoerner homer.
    Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Johnson responded in the second by matching Miles’ production with back-to-back 3s to put the Gamecocks ahead 33-26.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Unlike reports on ICEBlock, posts tended to feature detailed information about each incident, including photographs and videos.
    Oriana van Praag, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
  • His 120 illustrations are colorful, sometimes combining nature photography with Walden’s original creations to form detailed settings.
    Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Residents in the San Gabriel Valley are contending with a dramatic surge in black flies, a painful little pest known for biting around the eyes and necks of people and pets.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Plus, little baby leaves are thinner.
    AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Because a present that is over $100, Miss Manner assures you, is indeed meant for a wedding and not a shower, whose gifts are supposed to be more nominal.
    Judith Martin, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2026
  • In an alternative scenario, the cap would stay fixed in nominal dollar terms, in our examples at $100,000 or $70,000 sans bumps for the CPI, for 20 or 30 years, and after those intervals grow in tandem with wages.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Another camera, an eye tuned to the subtle strangeness of an otherwise ordinary day—someone or something, somewhere, must have caught a glimmer of the truth.
    Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Vice President Vance, who is considered an isolationist, expressed private skepticism ahead of the attacks, and his relative silence during the first weeks of the war was perceived as a subtle way of distancing himself from the conflict.
    Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The plot pivots on tiny gestures involving matters of life and death.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Each impact steals a tiny bit of the spacecraft’s speed, pushing it a smidgen closer to Earth.
    Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • During the trial, a group called the DFW Support Committee recruited volunteer note-takers to transcribe the proceedings.
    Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2026
  • All calls are recorded (that was true before the AI was launched) and transcribed.
    Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • At the same time, groups like the nonpartisan Latino Victory Project, which focuses on developing Hispanic political leadership, said this current moment should not distract from the still-ongoing civil rights battles.
    ABC News, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2026
  • But for me, at least, the direction is neither sufficiently cohesive or detailed, in that crucial moment-by-moment way, to really pull all of these different strands together to offer much more than a chance to have fun with genre stereotypes or relive a favorite movie.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Minute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/minute. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.

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