Library / English Dictionary

NARROW

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A narrow strait connecting two bodies of water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("narrow" is a kind of...):

sound; strait (a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water)

Instance hyponyms:

Verrazano Narrows (a narrow channel of water separating Staten Island and Brooklyn)

Derivation:

narrow (make or become more narrow or restricted)

narrow (not wide)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view

Example:

narrow opinions

Synonyms:

narrow; narrow-minded

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

petty; small-minded (contemptibly narrow in outlook)

opinionated; opinionative; self-opinionated (obstinate in your opinions)

illiberal; intolerant (narrow-minded about cherished opinions)

dogmatic; dogmatical (characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles)

close-minded; closed-minded (not ready to receive to new ideas)

Also:

narrow (not wide)

Derivation:

narrowness (an inclination to criticize opposing opinions or shocking behavior)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination

Example:

an exact and minute report

Synonyms:

minute; narrow

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

careful (exercising caution or showing care or attention)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Limited in size or scope

Example:

the narrow sense of a word

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

limited (small in range or scope)

Derivation:

narrowness (a restriction of range or scope)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Not wide

Example:

a narrow line across the page

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

narrowing; tapered; tapering (becoming gradually narrower)

straplike (long and narrow like a strap)

strait (narrow)

slender; thin (very narrow)

constricting; constrictive; narrowing ((of circumstances) tending to constrict freedom)

narrowed (reduced in size as by squeezing together)

narrow-mouthed (having a narrow mouth)

Also:

thin (of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section)

limited (small in range or scope)

narrow; narrow-minded (lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view)

Attribute:

breadth; width (the extent of something from side to side)

Antonym:

wide (having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other)

Derivation:

narrow (a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water)

narrowness (the property of being narrow; having little width)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Very limited in degree

Example:

a narrow escape

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

bare; marginal (just barely adequate or within a lower limit)

Antonym:

wide (great in degree)

Derivation:

narrowness (a small margin)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become tight or as if tight

Example:

Her throat constricted

Synonyms:

constrict; constringe; narrow

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "narrow" is one way to...):

tighten (become tight or tighter)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "narrow"):

astringe (become constricted or compressed)

strangulate (become constricted)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

narrowing (an instance of becoming narrow)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make or become more narrow or restricted

Example:

The road narrowed

Synonyms:

contract; narrow

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "narrow" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "narrow"):

bottleneck (become narrow, like a bottleneck)

taper off (become smaller or less active)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

widen (become broader or wider or more extensive)

Also:

narrow down (become more focused on an area of activity or field of study)

Derivation:

narrow (a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water)

narrowing (the act of making something narrower)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become more focused on an area of activity or field of study

Example:

She specializes in Near Eastern history

Synonyms:

narrow; narrow down; specialise; specialize

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "narrow" is one way to...):

alter; change; vary (become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "narrow"):

overspecialise; overspecialize (become overly specialized)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Define clearly

Example:

I cannot narrow down the rules for this game

Synonyms:

nail down; narrow; narrow down; peg down; pin down; specify

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "narrow" is one way to...):

determine (fix in scope; fix the boundaries of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "narrow"):

concretize (make something concrete)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

Montelukast blocks the action of a substance that causes airways in the lungs to narrow and causes other symptoms of asthma.

(Montelukast, NCI Dictionary)

Narrowing or stricture of the bladder neck.

(Bladder Neck Stenosis, NCI Thesaurus)

I put my hand in his, wondering who he was, and we walked away to a shop in a narrow street, on which was written OMER, DRAPER, TAILOR, HABERDASHER, FUNERAL FURNISHER, &c.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down considerably.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“We can never get that anchor up in this narrow place, once it has left the bottom,” I said.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“We’ve all gotten used to having a well-controlled, narrow temperature range in our homes and offices,” said Dr Megan Davies Wykes from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering.

(Wind more effective than cold air at cooling rooms naturally, University of Cambridge)

This revealed the microscopic detail of the secondary cell wall macrofibrils, which are 1000 times narrower than the width of a human hair.

(Revealing the nanostructure of wood could help raise height limits for wooden skyscrapers, University of Cambridge)

Our inquiry has already narrowed down to that.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was a small shed in the narrow garden which ran behind the house.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Like the sun, it has a "habitable zone", a narrow region around it where conditions are favorable for Earth-like life.

(Potentially Habitable 'Super-Earths' Found Orbiting around Sun's near Neighbor, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)