Meaning of LESS
| Pronunciation: | | les
|
 WordNet Dictionary |
| |
| | Definition: | |
- [adv] used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs; "less interesting"; "less expensive"; "less quickly"
- [adv] comparative of little; "she walks less than she should"; "he works less these days"
- [adj] (nonstandard in some uses but often idiomatic with measure phrases; `we had less apples' is not acceptable) fewer; "less than three weeks"; "no less than 50 people attended"; "in 25 words or less"
- [adj] (usually preceded by `no)' lower in esteem; "no less a person than the king himself"
- [adj] (usually preceded by `no') lower in quality; "no less than perfect"
|
| |
| | Websites: | |
|
| |
| | Synonyms: | | fewer, inferior, lower, to a lesser extent |
| |
| | Antonyms: | | more, to a greater extent | | |
|
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
| |
| | Definition: | |
\-less\ (-l[e^]s). [AS. le['a]s loose, false; akin to OS.
l[=o]s loose, false, D. los loose, loos false, sly, G. los
loose, Icel. lauss loose, vacant, Goth. laus empty, vain, and
also to E. loose, lose. [root]127. See {Lose}, and cf.
{Loose}, {Leasing}.]
A privative adjective suffix, denoting without, destitute of,
not having; as witless, childless, fatherless.
\Less\ (l[e^]s), conj.
Unless. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
\Less\, a. [OE. lesse, AS. l[=ae]ssa; akin to OFries.
l[=e]ssa; a compar. from a lost positive form. Cf. {Lesser},
{Lest}, {Least}. Less has the sense of the comparative degree
of little.]
Smaller; not so large or great; not so much; shorter;
inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less size
or value; in less time than before.
Note: The substantive which less qualifies is often omitted;
as, the purse contained less (money) than ten dollars.
See {Less}, n.
Thus in less [time] than a hundred years from the
coming of Augustine, all England became
Christian. --E. A.
Freeman.
\Less\, adv. [AS. l[=ae]s. See {Less}, adj., and cf.
{Lest}.]
Not so much; in a smaller or lower degree; as, less bright or
loud; less beautiful.
\Less\, n.
1. A smaller portion or quantity.
The children of Israel did so, and gathered, some
more, some less. --Ex. xvi. 17.
2. The inferior, younger, or smaller.
The less is blessed of the better. --Heb. vii. 7.
\Less\, v. t.
To make less; to lessen. [Obs.] --Gower.
|
| |
| | Websites: | |
|
| |
| Thesaurus Terms |
| |
| | Related Terms: | | abated, ablated, at a disadvantage, at the nadir, attenuated, barring, bated, belittled, below, below the mark, common, consumed, contracted, curtailed, decreased, decreasingly, decrescendo, deflated, demeaning, diminished, diminishingly, diminuendo, disadvantaged, discounting, dissipated, dropped, eroded, ever less, except, excepting, exception taken of, excluding, exclusive of, fallen, fewer, from, humble, in the gutter, in the shade, inferior, infra dig, junior, least, least of all, leaving out, less and less, lesser, low, lower, lowered, lowly, miniaturized, minor, minus, modest, not counting, not so much, off, ordinary, reduced, retrenched, sans, save, scaled-down, second rank, second string, secondary, servile, shorn, short of, shorter, shrunk, shrunken, smaller, sub, subaltern, subject, subordinate, subservient, third rank, third string, under, under par, underprivileged, vulgar, watered-down, weakened, without, worn |
| |
|
|
|