Adjacent Words

Lesser definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LESS'ER, a. [This word is a corruption; but too well established to be discarded.]
Less; smaller. Authors always write the Lesser Asia.
By the same reason, may a man in a state of nature, punish the lesser breaches of that law.
God made the lesser light to rule the night. Genesis 1.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of less size or importance; "the lesser anteater"; "the lesser of two evils" [ant: greater]
2: smaller in size or amount or value; "the lesser powers of Europe"; "the lesser anteater"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 13th century comparative of little I ; of less size, quality, degree, or significance ; of lower status II. adverb Date: 1539 less <lesser-known>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (usu. attrib.) not so great as the other or the rest (the lesser evil; the lesser celandine). Etymology: double compar., f. LESS + -ER(3)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lesser Less"er, adv. Less. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lesser Less"er (-[~e]r), a. [This word is formed by adding anew the compar. suffix -er (in which r is from an original s) to less. See Less, a.] Less; smaller; inferior. God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night. --Gen. i. 15. Note: Lesser is used for less, now the compar. of little, in certain special instances in which its employment has become established by custom; as, Lesser Asia (i. e., Asia Minor), the lesser light, and some others; also in poetry, for the sake of the meter, and in prose where its use renders the passage more euphonious. The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace. --Shak. The larger here, and there the lesser lambs. --Pope. By the same reason may a man, in the state of nature, punish the lesser breaches of the law. --Locke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. You use lesser in order to indicate that something is smaller in extent, degree, or amount than another thing that has been mentioned. No medication works in isolation but is affected to a greater or lesser extent by many other factors... The more obvious potential allies are Ireland, Denmark and, to a lesser degree, the Netherlands. ADJ: ADJ n, the ADJ of n • Lesser is also an adverb. ...lesser known works by famous artists. ADV: ADV -ed 2. You can use lesser to refer to something or someone that is less important than other things or people of the same type. They pleaded guilty to lesser charges of criminal damage... He was feared by other, lesser, men. ADJ: ADJ n, the ADJ of n 3. the lesser of two evils: see evil

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Less, smaller, inferior.

Moby Thesaurus

abated, ablated, attenuated, bated, belittled, common, consumed, contracted, curtailed, decreased, deflated, demeaning, diminished, dinky, disadvantaged, dissipated, dropped, eroded, fallen, humble, in the shade, inferior, infra dig, insignificant, junior, less, low, lower, lowered, lowly, miniaturized, minor, modest, nether, ordinary, reduced, retrenched, scaled-down, second rank, second string, secondary, servile, shorn, shorter, shrunk, shrunken, small, small-fry, small-time, smaller, sub, subaltern, subjacent, subject, subordinate, subservient, third rank, third string, under, underprivileged, vulgar, watered-down, weakened, worn