infinitesimal

CEFRC2

/ˌɪnfɪnɪˈtɛsɪməl/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Extremely small, almost impossible to measure.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Of or pertaining to non-zero quantities whose magnitude is less than any positive rational number.

Examples

  • My love for you is infinitesimal.

  • We were only given infinitesimal doses.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Very small.

  2. Incalculably, exceedingly, or immeasurably minute; vanishingly small.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A non-zero quantity whose magnitude is smaller than any positive number (by definition it is not a real number).

More examples

In context

  • Do you ever get the feeling that you are but an infinitesimal speck, swallowed by the vastness of the universe and beyond?

  • Then you could say that the doorway exploded. But the particular verb doesn't do the action justice. Rather, it shattered into infinitesimal pieces.

  • "You will conceive a bunch of grapes," said he, "which are covered by some infinitesimal but noxious bacillus."

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The amount of dust on the microscope slide was blank, barely visible even under high magnification.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From New Latin īnfīnītēsimus + -al. Displaced earlier coordinate term fluxion.