From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdiminutivedi‧min‧u‧tive1 /dəˈmɪnjətɪv/ adjective SHORT PERSONSMALLsmall a shy diminutive man► see thesaurus at short
Examples from the Corpus
diminutive• The courtroom was the diminutive Carman's stage, where he played carefully to the jury with meticulously prepared gestures and phrases.• A diminutive figure appeared in the doorway.• The diminutive guard from Arizona dominated the overtime, scoring 10 of the Raptors' 19 points.• And the weather, from one part of this diminutive island to another, is as varied as the people.• Three wore the white coats of the back-room boffin, the fourth was diminutive, little more than a boy.• Peter was a shy, diminutive man who seldom said anything to anyone.• Brennan is a diminutive man with a quick smile.• The diminutive Mr Dunne, who lived on the second floor of the hotel, was cordial in his way.• But their diminutive size makes for fun eating.• It suited her diminutive stature and delicate features.diminutivediminutive2 noun [countable] SLa word formed by adding a diminutive suffixExamples from the Corpus
diminutive• Reaney also deals with other interesting varieties of surnames based on relationships - those formed from pet names and diminutives.Origin diminutive1 (1300-1400) French diminutif, from Latin minuere “to make less” 