lesser

lesser
less|er [ˈlesə US -ər] adj [only before noun]
1.) formal not as large, as important, or as much as something else
greater
They originally asked for $5 million, but finally settled for a lesser sum.
to a lesser extent/degree
This was true in Madrid, and to a lesser extent, Valencia and Seville.
lesser mortals atmortal2 , to a greater or lesser extent atextent
2.) the lesser of two evils also the lesser evil
the less unpleasant or harmful of two unpleasant choices
3.) technical used in the names of some types of animal, bird, or plant that are slightly smaller than the main type
>lesser adv
the lesser-known artists of the period
one of Glasgow's lesser used venues

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • Lesser — (vom hebräischen Wort „Eliezer“ (אֱלִיעֶזֶר dt. Hilfe/Gerichtshof meines Gottes) ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), polnischer Maler und Kritiker Anton Lesser (* 1952), englischer Schauspieler Axel Lesser (*… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lesser — is a surname, and may refer to* Gabriele Lesser, German journalist * George Lesser, American musician * J Lesser aka Lesser, IDM musician * Matt Lesser, Connecticut politician * Oskar Lesser, German astronomer * Rika Lesser, American poet * Anton …   Wikipedia

  • Lesser — Less er (l[e^]s [ e]r), a. [This word is formed by adding anew the compar. suffix er (in which r is from an original s) to less. See {Less}, a.] Less; smaller; inferior. [1913 Webster] God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night. Gen. i. 15 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lesser — less·er / le sər/ adj: of less size, quality, degree, or significance; specif: of lower criminal liability duress has been held a good defense to such lesser crimes as robbery, burglary and malicious mischief W. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, Jr.… …   Law dictionary

  • lesser — (adj.) early 13c., a double comparative, from LESS (Cf. less) + ER (Cf. er) (2). Johnson calls it a barbarous corruption of less, formed by the vulgar from the habit of terminating comparatives in er. As an adverb from 1590s; now generally poetic …   Etymology dictionary

  • Lesser — Less er, adv. Less. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lesser — smaller, *less, fewer Antonyms: major …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • lesser — see less 3 …   Modern English usage

  • lesser — [adj] inferior, secondary a notch under*, bottom, bush, bush league*, dinky*, insignificant, less important, low, lower, minor, minorleague*, nether, second fiddle*, second string*, slighter, small, small fry*, small time*, subjacent, subordinate …   New thesaurus

  • lesser — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ not so great, large, or important as the other or the rest …   English terms dictionary

  • lesser — [les′ər] adj. [ LESS + ER] 1. alt. compar. of LITTLE 2. smaller, less, or less important adv. less …   English World dictionary

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