diminutive

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++di·min·u·tive1 /dəˈmɪnjətɪv/ adjective  SHORT PERSONSMALLsmall 矮小的，微小的 a shy diminutive man 一个腼腆的矮个子男人► see thesaurus at short

Examples from the Corpus

diminutive• The courtroom was the diminutive Carman's stage, where he played carefully to the jury with meticulously prepared gestures and phrases.• A diminutive figure appeared in the doorway.• The diminutive guard from Arizona dominated the overtime, scoring 10 of the Raptors' 19 points.• And the weather, from one part of this diminutive island to another, is as varied as the people.• Three wore the white coats of the back-room boffin, the fourth was diminutive, little more than a boy.• Peter was a shy, diminutive man who seldom said anything to anyone.• Brennan is a diminutive man with a quick smile.• The diminutive Mr Dunne, who lived on the second floor of the hotel, was cordial in his way.• But their diminutive size makes for fun eating.• It suited her diminutive stature and delicate features.

Related topics: Linguistics

diminutive2 noun [countable]  SLa word formed by adding a diminutive suffix 指小词〔由表示 “小” 的后缀构成的词〕

Examples from the Corpus

diminutive• Reaney also deals with other interesting varieties of surnames based on relationships - those formed from pet names and diminutives.Origin diminutive1 (1300-1400) French diminutif, from Latin minuere “to make less”

di·min·u·tive1 adjectivediminutive2 nounChineseSyllable  

small Corpus

diminutive

I

di‧min‧u‧tive¹ /dəˈmɪnjətɪv, dɪˈmɪnjətɪv/ adjectivesmall:
    a shy diminutive man
     

THESAURUS

■ person
   ▪ short someone who is short is not as tall as most people: He was a short fat man.
   ▪ not very tall quite short. This phrase sounds more gentle than saying that someone is short: She wasn’t very tall – maybe about 1.60 m.
   ▪ small short and with a small body: My mother was a small woman. | The girl was quite small for her age (=smaller than other girls of the same age).
   ▪ petite used about a woman who is attractively short and thin: She was a petite woman with blonde hair.
   ▪ stocky used about a boy or man who is short, heavy, and strong: Harry was stocky and middle-aged.
   ▪ dumpy short and fat: a dumpy girl with red hair
   ▪ diminutive formal literary very short or small – used especially in descriptions in novels: a diminutive figure dressed in black
   ▪ stubby stubby fingers or toes are short and thick: the baby’s stubby little fingers

II

diminutive² noun [countable]
a word formed by adding a diminutive suffix