Meaning & use
narrow-minded people
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Meanings
phraseplural
People who are unwilling to consider ideas, beliefs, or ways of living that differ from their own.
Grammar: A plural noun phrase; use it for a group, and use 'a narrow-minded person' for one individual.
Patterns
- narrow-minded people who do something
- be surrounded by narrow-minded people
- narrow-minded people in a place
Narrow-minded people often refuse to listen to any opinion that challenges their own.
She grew up among narrow-minded people who thought anyone different was a threat.
It is unfair to call a whole village of narrow-minded people just because a few are rude.
phrasepluraldisapproving
Used of groups or institutions that resist change or refuse new members and new ideas.
Grammar: Often describes organizations rather than individuals: 'narrow-minded people running the club'.
Patterns
- narrow-minded people in charge
- narrow-minded people in an organization
The paper blamed narrow-minded people in the ministry for blocking the reform.
Narrow-minded people on the committee rejected every young applicant.
Common combinations
- a narrow-minded attitude
- His narrow-minded attitude made real discussion impossible.
- narrow-minded views
- Such narrow-minded views belong to another century.
- small-minded
- Calling him small-minded upset the whole family.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bigoted
- Stronger and more negative: bigoted people actively hate or mistreat those who differ, while narrow-minded people mainly refuse to consider other views.
- intolerant
- Focuses on refusing to accept other people's beliefs or behavior; narrow-minded is broader and can simply mean unwilling to try new ideas.
- provincial
- Suggests a limited, local outlook rather than personal stubbornness, and is often used about places or attitudes, not people directly.
Opposites
Word family
- narrow-mindedness noun
- The quality of refusing to consider other ideas.
- narrow-mindedly adverb
- In a way that shows a refusal to consider other ideas.
- open-minded adjective
- Willing to consider new ideas and other people's views.
Commonly confused: narrow-minded people or small-minded?
narrow-minded people vs small-minded
Small-minded means petty and concerned with trivial things or personal slights, while narrow-minded is about refusing to accept different ideas and beliefs.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Narrow-minded people' is plural, so it takes a plural verb and describes a group that resists unfamiliar ideas. Option 0 wrongly uses a singular verb, option 2 wrongly uses the plural phrase for one person, and option 3 contradicts the meaning of the phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “narrow-minded people”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.