1
as in narrow
unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints
a small-minded man only concerned with his own well-being
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
resented the small-minded people who automatically opposed every new idea
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of small-minded
Incremental development and half-measures got us into this problem; that small-minded thinking will not get us out of it.
—
Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 9 June 2025
Identify 5 specific behaviors, habits, or thought patterns that would seem ridiculous or small-minded to someone playing at a higher level.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
The way that Pliny saw it, astrology was small-minded fatalism, in which people glommed onto meaningless symbols for a sense of identity.
—Maya Layne, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Their small-minded nature is justified through closeness, but really, everyone seems miserable, with their connections to Judaism existing in social standing only.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Clearly, the two men are supposed to represent competing visions of Britishness: the one tolerant and outward-looking, drawing on the country’s rich heritage as a way to move the culture forward, the other entitled and small-minded, invested in the past only as a tool of propaganda.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
This latest incident is yet another example of Trump’s small-minded, black-and-white thinking that denotes a simple mind unable to comprehend or consider policies that exist in the gray areas of governing.
—Robin Epley, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024
The customer base is more informed and to make small-minded temporary transactions based on the political climate is the wrong direction for any company.
—Rhett Buttle, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
The latter consist of several cartoon-like locals with high levels of bigotry and stupidity — the kind of small-minded, provincial Frenchmen and women featured in hit Gallic comedies like Serial Bad Weddings or the Tuche series.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Sep. 2024
Zellnor Myrie, New York Daily News, 9 June 2025
Identify 5 specific behaviors, habits, or thought patterns that would seem ridiculous or small-minded to someone playing at a higher level.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
The way that Pliny saw it, astrology was small-minded fatalism, in which people glommed onto meaningless symbols for a sense of identity.
—Maya Layne, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Their small-minded nature is justified through closeness, but really, everyone seems miserable, with their connections to Judaism existing in social standing only.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Clearly, the two men are supposed to represent competing visions of Britishness: the one tolerant and outward-looking, drawing on the country’s rich heritage as a way to move the culture forward, the other entitled and small-minded, invested in the past only as a tool of propaganda.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
This latest incident is yet another example of Trump’s small-minded, black-and-white thinking that denotes a simple mind unable to comprehend or consider policies that exist in the gray areas of governing.
—Robin Epley, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024
The customer base is more informed and to make small-minded temporary transactions based on the political climate is the wrong direction for any company.
—Rhett Buttle, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
The latter consist of several cartoon-like locals with high levels of bigotry and stupidity — the kind of small-minded, provincial Frenchmen and women featured in hit Gallic comedies like Serial Bad Weddings or the Tuche series.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small-minded
Adjective
-
But its critics say EA continues to make narrow and curious choices that neglect both systemic issues and the complexly human reasons people give, as a battle for billions rages on.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
24 July 2025
-
That choice is one of the starkest demonstrations that the regime’s priority of narrow self-interest over the global good won’t be changing anytime soon.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
24 July 2025
Adjective
-
South suburban committee members, meanwhile, showed parochial loyalty to Kelly.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
19 July 2025
-
In a chamber fraught with parochial interests and personalities in spades, the sprint to finish this by the July 4 holiday is going to be clipped.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Bashir also encourages the use of solar power, helping clients navigate provincial subsidies and designing homes with electrical systems that can easily accommodate solar panel installations or solar roof tiles.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
19 July 2025
-
One local Druze man told me on Tuesday that artillery was raining down on the provincial capital, and that kidnappings and gun battles were taking place across the area.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
18 July 2025
Adjective
-
Bringing bold wallpaper into a small space can be a fun way to add a bit of a ‘wow’ factor, and that is precisely what Laws did in this 40-square-foot half-bath.—
Lennie Omalza,
The Courier-Journal,
25 July 2025
-
The Kitchen by Cooking with Que is open to the public Fridays and Saturdays as a small café. Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com.—
Susan Selasky,
Freep.com,
25 July 2025
Adjective
-
Doctor The rhetoric around Mamdani has been described as racist, bigoted and Islamophobic.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
-
Only the Ku Klux Klan could enjoy such bigoted and nonsensical statements.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Without wanting to trivialize egregious breaches of sovereignty like the invasion of Ukraine, most are undeniably petty.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
25 July 2025
-
Shameful to once again put the president's petty interests over the needs of Americans.—
Hollie Silverman
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 July 2025
Adjective
-
Its opposite—illiberal—means stingy, narrow-minded, intolerant, provincial, unenlightened, and using government to insure the flourishing of only the few.—
Harper’s Magazine,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
-
That is something that has always struck me as strange and narrow-minded.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 June 2025
Adjective
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On Anna Wintour putting celebrities on the cover of Vogue Back in the '80s, fashion was a very small, insular world.—
Terry Gross,
NPR,
17 July 2025
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The insular nature of an industry oft-criticized for a lack of diversity seems reflected in a roster of ACM Awards nominations that excluded one of the biggest country music phenomena of 2024.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Small-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small-minded. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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