minor
/'mainə/
Definition
Adjective:
- Of lesser importance, size, or seriousness: Describes something that is not major, significant, or severe.
- Not of legal age: Refers to a person who is below the age of full legal responsibility.
- Music: Based on a minor scale: Describes a key or chord characterized by a specific, often sadder or more somber, sound.
- Secondary in academic study: Relating to a student's secondary field of concentration at a university.
Noun:
- A person who is below the legal age of majority: A child or young person.
- Music: A minor key, interval, or scale: The tonality itself.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- He suffered only minor injuries in the accident.
- It's a minor problem; we can fix it easily.
- She is a history minor at the university. (Here, "minor" is a noun used attributively as an adjective.)
- The symphony is written in C minor.
Noun:
- The film is not suitable for minors.
- The piece modulates from a major to a minor.
Advanced Usage
"Minor in" (verb phrase): To study a secondary subject at a college or university.
- She decided to minor in Spanish alongside her business major.
"In a minor key": Used figuratively to describe a mood, tone, or situation that is sad, subdued, or not optimistic.
- His speech about the past was in a minor key, full of nostalgia and regret.
Variants and Related Words
- Minority (n): 1. The smaller number or part. 2. A group of people differing from the majority. 3. The state or period of being under legal age.
- Minor-league (adj): 1. Relating to a lower level of professional sports. 2. (Figuratively) Of lesser importance or quality.
- Minutely (adv): In a very minor or detailed way.
Synonyms
- Adjective: Insignificant, slight, trivial, negligible, secondary, lesser, petty.
- Noun: Child, juvenile, youngster, adolescent.
Antonyms
- Adjective: Major, significant, important, crucial, severe.
- Noun: Adult, major.
Related Phrases
- A minor detail: An insignificant or very small part of something larger.
- Don't worry about that color; it's a minor detail.
- Minor surgery: A surgical procedure that is not serious or risky.
- He underwent minor surgery on his knee.
Adjective
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limited in size or scope
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a small business
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a newspaper with a modest circulation
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small-scale plans
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a pocket-size country
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warranting only temporal punishment
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venial sin
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of the younger of two boys with the same family name
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Jones minor
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of your secondary field of academic concentration or specialization
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of lesser seriousness or danger
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suffered only minor injuries
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some minor flooding
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a minor tropical disturbance
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not of legal age
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minor children
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of a scale or mode
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the minor keys
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in B flat minor
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inferior in number or size or amount
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a minor share of the profits
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Ursa Minor
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lesser in scope or effect
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had minor differences
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a minor disturbance
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of lesser importance or stature or rank
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a minor poet
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had a minor part in the play
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a minor official
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many of these hardy adventurers were minor noblemen
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minor back roads
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Noun
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a young person of either sex
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she writes books for children
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they're just kids
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`tiddler' is a British term for youngster
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