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Least vs Tiny - What's the difference?

least | tiny |

As a determiner least

is (little);the smallest amount of [something.

As an adverb least

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

As an adjective tiny is

very small.

As a noun tiny is

a small child; an infant.

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

    *

    tiny

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Very small.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny' creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying ' tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field. A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that.}}

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Antonyms

    * huge, large, big

    Derived terms

    * tinyness

    Noun

    (tinies)
  • A small child; an infant.
  • *1924 , (Ford Madox Ford), Some Do Not…'', Penguin 2012 (''Parade's End ), p. 28:
  • *:‘You know I loved your husband like a brother, and you know I've loved you and Sylvia ever since she was a tiny .’
  • * 1982 , Young children in China (page 84)
  • The lessons we saw have been well suited to the age of the children as regards music, singing and moving (and stories about animals for the tinies and more abstract themes for the older children).
  • Anything very small.
  • * 1956 , Victoria Sackville-West, Even More For Your Garden (page 102)
  • Might I now add a plea for the smaller irises, the tinies ? They, also, should be divided up and replanted just now.

    Anagrams

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