What vs Less - What's the difference?
what | less |
(interrogative) Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: used interrogatively in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.
(relative, nonstandard) That; which.
* 1902 , , (The Admirable Crichton) :
(relative) That which; those that; the thing that.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
, volume=189, issue=2, page=48, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= In some manner or degree; in part; partly; usually followed by with .
Such.
(label) Why?
* (rfdate) (Chaucer)
* (rfdate) (John Milton)
Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both…and.
* :
* 1605 Wm. Shakespeare, King Lear
(British, colloquial, dated) Is that not true?
Which; which kind of.
How much; how great (used in an exclamation).
(obsolete) something; thing; stuff
* Spenser
To smaller extent.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= In lower degree.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8
, passage=I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.}}
* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times
, passage=That brief moment after the election four years ago, when many Americans thought Mr. Obama’s election would presage a new, less fractious political era, now seems very much a thing of the past. }}
* 1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, p. 141:
A smaller amount (of); not as much.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= (proscribed) A smaller number of; fewer.
* 1952 , Thomas M Pryor, New York Times , 7 Sep 1952:
* 1999 , (George RR Martin), A Clash of Kings , Bantam 2011, p. 555:
* 2003 , Timandra Harkness, The Guardian , 16 Dec 2003:
Minus; not including
(obsolete) To make less; to lessen.
In obsolete|lang=en terms the difference between what and less
is that what is (obsolete) something; thing; stuff while less is (obsolete) unless.As adverbs the difference between what and less
is that what is in some manner or degree; in part; partly; usually followed by with while less is to smaller extent.As a pronoun what
is (interrogative) which thing, event, circumstance, etc: used interrogatively in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.As an interjection what
is .As a determiner what
is which; which kind of.As a noun what
is (obsolete) something; thing; stuff.As an adjective less is
.As a preposition less is
minus; not including.As a verb less is
(obsolete) to make less; to lessen.As a conjunction less is
(obsolete) unless.what
English
(wikipedia what)Pronoun
(English Pronouns)- That’s her; that’s the thing what has stole his heart from me.
The tao of tech, passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast […, or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing",
Adverb
(-)- What should I tell the answer of the knight?
- But what do I stand reckoning upon advantages and gains lost by the misrule and turbulency of the prelates?
- And as for on C good knyghtes I haue my self / but I fawte / l / for so many haue ben slayne in my dayes / and so Ladegreans delyuerd his doughter Gweneuer vnto Merlyn / and the table round with the C knyghtes / and so they rode fresshly with grete royalte / what' by water and ' what by land / tyl that they came nyghe vnto london
Synonyms
* suchInterjection
(en interjection)- What , have his daughters brought him to this pass?
- What ! That’s amazing.
- It’s a nice day, what'''?'' (sometimes repeated, e.g.: '''''What'''-'''what ? )
Determiner
(en determiner)- What shirt are you going to wear?
- What time is it?
- What kind of car is that?
- What talent he has!
- What a talent!
Derived terms
* wat * what ho * whatness * what's whatNoun
(-)- They prayd him sit, and gave him for to feed / Such homely what as serves the simple clowne, / That doth despise the dainties of the towne
Statistics
*less
English
Adverb
(-)Katrina G. Claw
Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm, volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.}}
citation
Antonyms
* moreAdjective
- Those Rattels are somewhat like the chape of a Rapier, but lesse [...].
William E. Conner
An Acoustic Arms Race, volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
- This is not a happy situation as far as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes is concerned because it means less jobs for the union's members here at home.
- No less than four standard-bearers went before them, carrying huge crimson banners emblazoned with the golden lion.
- Although my hosts, G S Aviation, can teach you to fly in Wiltshire, an intensive week at their French airfield means less problems with the weather, cheap but good living, and complete removal from any distractions.
Usage notes
Antonyms
* moreSee also
* fewerPreposition
(English prepositions)- It should then tax all of that as personal income, less the proportion of the car's annual mileage demonstrably clocked up on company business.
Antonyms
* plusVerb
- (Gower)