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Meaning & use

minuscule

adjective, noun·Academic

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UK/ˈmɪnəskjuːl/
US/ˈmɪnəskjuːl/

Meanings

  1. adjectivebefore a noun

    So small in size or amount that it is barely noticeable.

    Grammar: Usually comes before a noun (a minuscule amount) but can follow a verb: the difference is minuscule.

    Patterns

    • a minuscule amount of something

    The camera caught a minuscule spider on the edge of the leaf.

    They offered us a minuscule budget for the whole project.

    The chance of rain tomorrow is minuscule.

  2. nouncountabletechnical

    A lowercase letter, as opposed to a capital, especially in medieval handwriting.

    Grammar: A countable noun, mainly in the study of old manuscripts: the scribe wrote in minuscule.

    The monk copied the whole text in neat minuscule.

    In this typeface the minuscule a looks like a printed letter.

    Scholars compare capitals with minuscule forms to date a manuscript.

Word forms

comparativemore minuscule
superlativemost minuscule

Common combinations

a minuscule fraction
Only a minuscule fraction of the applicants were hired.
minuscule amounts
The water contained minuscule amounts of lead.
minuscule chance
There is a minuscule chance that the flight will leave on time.
minuscule detail
She noticed every minuscule detail in the painting.
seem minuscule
Our problems seem minuscule next to theirs.

Synonyms and how they differ

tiny
Tiny is everyday and friendly, while minuscule sounds slightly more emphatic and is common in written description.
microscopic
Microscopic literally means too small to see without a microscope, so it is stronger and more exact than minuscule.
negligible
Negligible says an amount is so small it can be ignored, focusing on its importance rather than its physical size.
minute
Minute, pronounced like my-NYOOT, means very small too, but it is more formal and often confused with the time word.

Opposites

hugeenormous

Word family

minuscularly adverb
in a very small way, though rarely used
minus preposition
the Latin-based word meaning less, the root of minuscule
minute adjective
extremely small
minimal adjective
of the smallest possible amount

Commonly confused: minuscule or miniscule? minuscule or majuscule?

minuscule vs miniscule

This is a very common misspelling; the correct spelling is minuscule, from Latin minus, not from the prefix mini-.

minuscule vs majuscule

Majuscule means a capital letter, the opposite of minuscule in the lettering sense.

Practice

Choose the correct spelling to complete: The profit was a ___ amount compared with the costs.

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