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IN THE LEAST
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In the slightest degree or in any respect
Example:
was not in the least unfriendly
Synonyms:
at all; in the least; the least bit
Classified under:
Sense 2
Meaning:
To any extent at all
Example:
are you in the least interested?
Synonyms:
even a little; in the least
Classified under:
Context examples:
You don’t mind breaking the law? Not in the least. Nor running a chance of arrest? Not in a good cause. Oh, the cause is excellent! Then I am your man.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"That does not satisfy me in the least. I want my arms round you, and your head on my breast, and—oh, Gladys, I want—"
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I am not in the least ashamed of my meaning.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Mr. Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered, and fixed them on her face with a calm unconcern which was not in the least altered by her communication.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
But he was not in the least disturbed by desire to find out the reason for the difference between his father and himself.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Their mother had no objection to the plan, and they were not in the least afraid of their father's disapprobation.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
He had a considerable independence besides two good livings—and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
The first part of this deposition did not in the least interest me, but when the mark of the fingers was mentioned I remembered the murder of my brother and felt myself extremely agitated; my limbs trembled, and a mist came over my eyes, which obliged me to lean on a chair for support.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
For four months, Marianne, I have had all this hanging on my mind, without being at liberty to speak of it to a single creature; knowing that it would make you and my mother most unhappy whenever it were explained to you, yet unable to prepare you for it in the least.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Not in the least.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
