Lesser
'lesər
adjectiveBeginnerCommonGeneral
Meaning
Questions
Definitions
1
Smaller, less important, or of inferior quality or degree when compared to another.
'lesər
adjectiveneutralBeginner
General
Smaller in size, amount, or importance.
She chose the lesser of two evils.
💡 Simply: Imagine you have two slices of pizza, and one is tiny, the other is HUGE. The small slice is the 'lesser' one! It's the smaller or not-as-good one of two choices.
👶 For kids: Not as big, not as good.
More Examples
2
The lesser-known author gained fame after winning the award.
3
The lesser amount of time was still enough.
How It's Used
General Usage
"The lesser of two evils is still an evil."
Law
"The judge imposed a lesser sentence due to mitigating circumstances."
From Middle English *lesser*, comparative of *lesse* (less), from Old English *læssa*, comparative of *lǣs* (less).
Used since the Middle Ages as a comparative of 'less'.
Memory tip
Think of 'less' - a smaller amount or degree.
Practice
lessor
Usage
60%Spoken
40%Written