Synonyms and antonyms of Words used to describe small amounts and quantities in British Thesaurus

little (adverb)

used for referring to an extremely small amount of something

few (determiner)

used for emphasizing that a number of people or things is very small, especially when the number is smaller than you would like or expect

slight (adjective)

small in size, amount, or degree

scant (adjective)

very little, or not enough

minimum (adjective)

as small in amount or degree as necessary or possible

mere (adjective)

used for emphasizing that something is small or unimportant

sparse (adjective)

existing in small amounts, or a large distance apart

barely (adverb)

used for emphasizing how small an amount is

as few as ()

used before a number for emphasizing that it is smaller than you might expect

limited (adjective)

not very good, or not very great in amount

any (adverb)

used instead of ‘some’ for saying or asking whether there is a small amount of something or a small number of people or things

as little as ()

used before an amount for showing how small it is, when this is surprising

bare (adjective)

used for emphasizing how small an amount is

by a whisker ()

by a very small amount

dinky (adjective)

informalmainly American very small in size, amount, or importance

exiguous (adjective)

very formal extremely small in quantity

faintest (adjective)

used for emphasizing that something is very slight or very small

in short/limited supply ()

available only in small quantities, so that there is not enough

in small doses ()

in small amounts, or for short periods of time

in the way of ()

if there is not much in the way of something, there is not much of that particular thing

least (adjective)

used for emphasizing how small something is, especially when it is so small that it almost does not exist

light (adjective)

not much in quantity

lightly (adverb)

in small amounts, or using only a small amount of something

low (adjective)

small in amount or level

merely (adverb)

used for emphasizing that something is small or unimportant

minimal (adjective)

extremely small in amount or degree, or as small as possible

minority (adjective)

relating to or forming a minority

miserly (adjective)

showing disapproval a miserly amount is very small and not enough

only (adjective)

used for emphasizing that an amount, number, size, age, percentage etc is small or smaller than expected

paltry (adjective)

a paltry amount or number is very small

passing (adjective)

slight

pitiful (adjective)

a pitiful amount of something is very small and not enough

precious little/few ()

used for emphasizing how little there is of something

running low ()

if something is running low, or if you are running low on something, there is not much of it left

scant (adjective)

not more than a small amount or number

scanty (adjective)

not much, and less than is needed

slender (adjective)

very small in degree and only just enough

sparingly (adverb)

in small quantities

thin (adjective)

small in number or amount

thinly (adverb)

with only a few people or things that are far apart from each other

thin on the ground ()

not available in large amounts or numbers

you can count something on (the fingers of) one hand ()

used for saying that there are very few things or people of a particular type