less

Meaning

Adv

1. (comparative, diminutive, form-of) comparative degree of little
2. (comparative, diminutive) Used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs.
3. (comparative, diminutive) To a smaller extent or degree.

Det

1. (comparative, form-of) comparative form of little: more little; of inferior size, degree or extent; smaller, lesser.
2. A smaller amount of; not as much.
3. (nonstandard, proscribed) Fewer; a smaller number of.

Prep

Minus; not including

Verb

To make less; to lessen.

Adj

Lesser; smaller.

Noun

A smaller amount or quantity.

Conj

unless

Verb

Alternative form of let's.

little

• Adj
• Adv
• Det
• Pron
• Noun

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Opposite of

greater

Synonyms

fewer

below

smaller

little

lesser

few

🤏

minus

without

younger

more

minor

least

inadequate

in the middle

small

decrease

under

reduce

to a lesser extent

inferior

still

still more

tenuous

weal

yet

youngest

the least

very little

-less

lessened by subtraction

a few

🤏

the slightest

after

beneath

decayed

decreased

deficient

either

except

exclusive of

further

furthermore

greater

lack

less than

lower

much less

scant

scanty

short

Translations

meno

weniger

menos

moins

minder

minore

menos

menys

menor

kleiner

min

moins de

abzüglich

weniger als

moins que

Pronounced as (IPA)

/lɛs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: les

Inherited from Old English: lǣs

Cognate with Old Frisian: lēs

Cognate with Old Saxon: lēs

Cognate with Lithuanian: liesas

Inherited from Middle English: lees

Inherited from Old English: lǣssa

Cognate with Old Frisian: lessa

Inherited from Middle English: lessen

Inherited from Middle English: lesse

In summary

Adverb From Middle English les, lesse, leasse, lasse, from Old English lǣs (“smaller, less”), from Proto-Germanic *laisiz, from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to shrink, grow thin, be gentle”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēs (“less”), Old Saxon lēs (“less”). According to Kroonen (2013), from a northern Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *leh₂is- or *leh₃is-, which he connects to Lithuanian liesas (“lean”).
Determiner and preposition from Middle English lees, lesse, leasse, lasse, from Old English lǣssa (“less”), from Proto-Germanic *laisizan-, from Proto-Germanic *laisiz (“smaller, lesser, fewer, lower”) (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian lessa (“less”).
Verb from Middle English lessen, from the determiner.
Noun from Middle English lesse, from the determiner.

Sentences

He looked around at the empty plaza again , feeling less desperate than before .

Less often , longer works are referred to as novellas .

In Britain it flowers less profusely and even has a reputation for being tender .

This tension together with some minor injuries made Souness less keen to keep him .

It is generally less error-prone than using the built-in " switch to " command .

High-efficiency detectors produce spectra in less time than low-efficiency detectors .