15 other words for ‘small’

The word ‘small’ is frequently used in English, yet there are many other different words you can use instead to be more specific and make your writing more interesting.

Many synonyms for ‘small’ describe how the size of something – try some of the words below:

little“We’re organizing a little party for Granny,” Mum announced.
microscopicA microscopic amount of blood was found on her jacket.
miniatureThere is also a miniature railway which you can ride on.
minusculeHe gave a minuscule shake of his head.
minuteHe asked for minute details of what had happened.
teeny weeny (informal)There was a teeny weeny spider in the corner of the room.
tinyFrom the top of the hill, the cars looked tiny.

Other synonyms of ‘small’ talk about the amount of something, like these below:

meagreCopperfield struggled to live on his meagre allowance.
negligibleIn the desert, the annual rainfall is negligible.
paltry“Sir, that is a paltry sum of money!” Mr Bumble snorted.
poorThe wages for a waitress are very poor.

And there are some synonyms that are used for the importance of something, for example:

insignificant“It’s too insignificant an issue to argue about,” said my friend.
petty“Don’t worry me with petty matters,” she said, dismissively.
triflingTo a millionaire, a thousand pounds is a trifling sum.
unimportantTabloids often put seemingly unimportant stories on the front cover.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.

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