slightly

slight +‎ -ly

• IPA^(key): /ˈslaɪtli/

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• Rhymes: -aɪtli
• Hyphenation: slight‧ly

slightly (comparative more slightly, superlative most slightly)

1. Slenderly; delicately.

   He was slightly built, but tall.

2. (degree) To a small extent or degree.

   Synonyms: a little, marginally, somewhat, not much

   Antonyms: quite, very

   He weighed slightly less than his wife who was a foot shorter.

Slightly is often used by the English to mean almost the opposite, something like rather. For example, "The big picture here of course is that still staggeringly low numbers of these migrants are being hired though, isn't it? And despite these rather positive tales we've just heard, there seems to be a broader, slightly grimmer picture which perhaps will have a lesson for other countries thinking of receiving migrants." (Ed Butler on BBC Business Daily, Sept. 23, 2016)

• slightly-enriched uranium