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Diminutive vs Miniature - What's the difference?

diminutive | miniature |

As adjectives the difference between diminutive and miniature

is that diminutive is very small while miniature is smaller than normal.

As nouns the difference between diminutive and miniature

is that diminutive is a word form expressing smallness, youth, unimportance, or endearment while miniature is greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.

As a verb miniature is

to make smaller than normal; to reproduce in miniature.

diminutive

English

Alternative forms

*

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Very small.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=October 20 , author=Jamie Lillywhite , title=Tottenham 1 - 0 Rubin Kazan , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Roman Sharonov rose unchallenged to head a corner wide, while diminutive winger Gokdeniz Karadeniz ghosted in with a diving header from the edge of the six-yard box that was acrobatically kept out by Gomes.}}
  • Serving to diminish.
  • * Shaftesbury
  • diminutive of liberty
  • (grammar) Of or pertaining to, or creating a word form expressing smallness, youth, unimportance, or endearment.
  • Synonyms

    * (very small) lilliputian, tiny

    Antonyms

    * (very small) huge, gigantic * augmentative

    Noun

    (wikipedia diminutive) (en noun)
  • (grammar) A word form expressing smallness, youth, unimportance, or endearment.
  • Booklet, the diminutive of book, means ‘small book’ .

    Synonyms

    * nomen deminutivum

    Antonyms

    * augmentative

    miniature

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.
  • A small version of something; a model of reduced scale.
  • There was a miniature of a whaling ship in a glass bottle over the mantlepiece.
  • A small, highly detailed painting, a portrait miniature.
  • The art of painting such highly detailed miniature works.
  • An illustration in an illuminated manuscript.
  • A musical composition which is short in duration.
  • Sacha composed a miniature for strings as a final project at the conservatory.
  • (gaming) A token in a game representing a unit or character.
  • Jack had dozens of miniatures of Napoleonic footsoldiers painted in detailed period regalia for his wargames.
  • Lettering in red; rubric distinction.
  • A particular feature or trait.
  • (Massinger)

    Derived terms

    * miniaturist

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Smaller than normal.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-09-06, author= Alok Jha
  • , volume=189, issue=13, page=39, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Miniature brains grown in lab , passage=Scientists have grown miniature human brains in test tubes, creating a "tool" that will allow them to watch how the organs develop in the womb and, they hope, increase their understanding of neurological and mental problems. ¶ Just a few millimetres across, the "cerebral organoids" are built up of layers of brain cells with defined regions that resemble those seen in immature, embryonic brains.}}

    Derived terms

    * miniature poodle * miniaturism

    Verb

    (miniatur)
  • To make smaller than normal; to reproduce in miniature.
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