1
as in barely
by a very small margin
I thought the first one was slightly better
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in little
in a very small quantity or degree
he was slightly curious about the identity of the wine, but not enough to bother asking
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slightly
One slightly wrong rate in a budget, procurement forecast, or loan estimate easily moves millions of dollars in the wrong direction.
—
Arkansas Online, 8 Jan. 2026
Pale pink flower clusters that appear on the light green foliage in summer, slightly earlier than other sedum varieties.
—Miranda Crowell, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Jan. 2026
Legette, meanwhile, had an OK season in 2024 as a rookie but has seen all of his numbers slightly tail off in 2025.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 8 Jan. 2026
Of course, Martha has tips for making the work slightly easier.
—Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 7 Jan. 2026
But if a person seeking status is already wealthy or attains corporate sponsorship, for instance, a viable pathway to citizenship opens up, even if only slightly.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
Last June, however, after vaccine production had begun, H3N2 changed slightly.
—Erika Edwards, NBC news, 7 Jan. 2026
Key Takeaways Women who drank tea had slightly higher total hip bone mineral density than those who did not, according to a 10-year study.
—Fran Kritz, Verywell Health, 7 Jan. 2026
Feet shoulder-width apart, pointed slightly out.
—Gretchen Reynolds, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slightly
Adverb
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For families This is the rare wilderness lodge where kids aren't just tolerated—they're given the kind of freedom that barely exists anymore.—
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So far, that promise has barely materialized.—
Adverb
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Indeed, oil futures were little changed Sunday night after trading began following the US intervention in Venezuela.—
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At the time Kubrick started making Full Metal Jacket, a brutal war drama based on Gustav Hasford’s excellent but relatively little-known 1979 novel, The Short Timers, many felt that American cinema hadn’t yet fully reckoned with the Vietnam War.—
Adverb
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Residents near the park, located off David Drive in the Bonnie Brae neighborhood, said they were awakened just before midnight by gunfire and emergency sirens.—
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Designed to bridge the gap between automotive ease and aerospace innovation, the vehicle targets consumers looking for adventure rather than just urban commuting.—
Adverb
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Though there is nominally an estate tax today, Congress has not enacted a single provision to close loopholes in 35 years.—
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Under this system, the brokerages nominally own the stock, but all the rights that attach to it—dividends, voting privileges, and so on—remain with the customers.—
Adverb
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The bill narrowly failed in the Senate.—
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Dash camera video captured the teen speeding away from the traffic stop and narrowly missing a deputy standing in the road.—
Adverb
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Chicken farming contributes non-negligibly to Earth’s greenhouse gas emissions, albeit less so than the beef and lamb industries.—
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The Moon, whose magnetic field is negligibly small, does not regulate itself in this fashion at all.—
Adverb
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The press conference was somewhat unusual, given that the incident had no connection to Philadelphia whatsoever.—
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The scope of the effort is almost incomprehensible, both for its sheer size and persistence on a low-lying peninsula, where the delineation between land and sea has always been somewhat unclear and is becoming less so.—
Cite this Entry
“Slightly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slightly. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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