different between a_little vs slightly

English

Adverb

a little (not comparable)

1. To a small extent or degree.
   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Hi, Amelia! Are you busy? — I’m a little busy.

   • 2018 "The Spear of Selene", Duck Tales

     Scrooge McDuck "A little salty."
     Zeus "Dip not good enough for you mortal? You offend Olympus!"

Synonyms

• a bit, a little bit

Antonyms

• a lot

Translations

Determiner

a little

1. A small amount of.

Usage notes

• A little is used only with uncountable nouns. A few or some are preferred for countable nouns.

Translations

Anagrams

• Tetilla, alt-lite, tetilla

English

Etymology

slight +? -ly

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sla?tli/
• Hyphenation: slight?ly

Adverb

slightly (comparative more slightly, superlative most slightly)

1. Slenderly; delicately.

   He was slightly built, but tall.

2. (degree) To a small extent or degree.

   He weighed slightly less than his wife who was a foot shorter.

   Synonyms: a little, marginally, somewhat

   Antonyms: quite, very

Usage notes

Slightly is often used by the English to mean almost the opposite, something like rather. For example, "The big picture here of course is that still staggeringly low numbers of these migrants are being hired though, isn't it? And despite these rather positive tales we've just heard, there seems to be a broader, slightly grimmer picture which perhaps will have a lesson for other countries thinking of receiving migrants." (Ed Butler on BBC Business Daily, Sept. 23, 2016)

Translations