Least vs Great - What's the difference?

As adverbs the difference between least and great

is that least is used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est while great is very well in a very satisfactory manner.

As a determiner least

is superlative of little;The smallest amount of [something uncountable].

As an adjective great is

very big, large scale.

As an interjection great is

expression of gladness and content about something.

As a noun great is

a person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.

least

English

Determiner

(en-det) (comparative less)

(little);The smallest amount of [something .

* 1857 , (Edmund March Blunt), The American Coast Pilot: Containing Directions for the Principal Harbors , E. & G.W. Blunt, page 135:

The least water we could find there was 4 fathoms, which bears from the point S.E., and is distant 1½ mile.

* John Duncan, Duncan's Travels

To have demolished and rebuilt the walls, would have been a very costly expedient, and as the least of two evils, the painter's brush was resorted to; here and there however, above some of the windows, the black wreathings of the smoke are still discernible through the white covering.

* , chapter=5

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=“Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.}}

*{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1

, passage=Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.}}

* 2004 , Jim Baggott, Beyond Measure: Modern Physics, Philosophy, and the Meaning of Quantum Theory , Oxford University Press, page 48:

Light does not need to know in advance which is the path of least time because it takes all paths from its source to its destination.

Usage notes

Some grammarians recommend to use least'' only with uncountable nouns, as in the examples above with the ''smallest amount of sense: * 1965 , H. W. Fowler, Fowler’s Modern English Usage: Second Edition : *: [W]hen the context—unemotional statement of everyday facts—is taken into account, at a less price'' ought to be ''at a lower price'', and ''a lesser prize'' ought to be ''a smaller prize . To such grammarians least'' is the superlative of ''a little'', not that of ''little'', so it does not mean ''smallest'', but ''the smallest amount of''. With plural nouns, they recommend ''fewest .

Adverb

Used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est .

It was the least surprising thing.

In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others.

to reward those who least deserve it

Antonyms

* most

Derived terms

(terms derived from "least") * at least * last but not least * least bittern * least common denominator * least flycatcher * least of all * least resistance * least sandpiper * least shrew * least upper bound * least weasel * log-linear least-squares method * method of least squares * not the least bit * path of least resistance * to say the least

Statistics

Anagrams

* English degree adverbs

great

English

(wikipedia great)

Adjective

(er)

Very big, large scale.

*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)

, chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like // Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer.

*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=7 citation , passage=‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Timothy Garton Ash)

, volume=189, issue=6, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli , passage=Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.}}

Very good.

*, chapter=5

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights,

Important.

*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

*:He doth object I am too great of birth.

*:“[…] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?”

Title referring to an important leader.

Superior; admirable; commanding; applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.

Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble.

(lb) Pregnant; large with young.

*(Bible), (Psalms) lxxviii. 71

*:the ewes great with young

More than ordinary in degree; very considerable.

*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

*:We have all / Great' cause to give ' great thanks.

*:Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;.

*'>citation

Intimate; familiar.

*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)

*:those that are so great with him

Usage notes

In simple situations, using modifiers of intensity such as fairly'', ''somewhat , etc. can lead to an awkward construction, with the exception of certain common expressions such as “so great” and “really great”. In particular “very great” is unusually strong as a reaction, and in many cases “great” or its meaning of “very good” will suffice.

Synonyms

* See also * See also

Derived terms

* great big * great chamber * great hall * great room * greatly * greatness

Interjection

(en interjection)

Expression of gladness and content about something.

Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.

sarcastic inversion thereof.

Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.

Noun

(en noun)

A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.

Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.

A course of academic study devoted to the works of such persons and also known as Literae Humaniores ; the "Greats" name has official status with respect to 's program and is widely used as a colloquialism in reference to similar programs elsewhere.

Spencer read Greats at Oxford, taking a starred first.

(music) The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.

Adverb

(-)

very well (in a very satisfactory manner)

Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened.

Derived terms

* greatly * greatness (compound terms) * just great * great big * great aunt * Great Dane * great-granddaughter * great granddaughter * great-grandfather * great grandfather * great-grandmother * great grandmother * great-grandson * great grandson * great uncle * Great Wall of China * great white shark

Statistics

Anagrams

* 200 English basic words 1000 English basic words ----