slightly lesser than

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "slightly lesser than" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct term is "slightly less than," which is used to compare quantities or degrees. Example: "The temperature today is slightly less than it was yesterday."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

13 human-written examples

If the amount of AgNO3 is appropriate (no more than 10 mg), the TGA curves of graphene-Ag composite films exhibited a mass loss at a temperature lower than 600°C, slightly lesser than that of graphene reduced only by ascorbic acid.

Nanoscale Research Letters

The amount of APS bound to the surface of nanoparticles, determined by plotting the absorbances obtained at 576 nm versus different concentrations of APS ninhydrin complex (Fig. 5b), was found to be 2.68 × 10−5 mol per milligram of magnetic nanoparticles which is slightly lesser than the theoretical value of 2.79 × 10−5 mol.

Cancer Nanotechnology

In the current study, the average number of alleles (3 alleles/locus) is slightly lesser than the average number of alleles (3.88 alleles/ locus) reported by Zhang et al. (2011) in rice core collection with 150 rice varieties from south Asia and Brazil and Jin et al. (2010) who has reported the average alleles per locus as 3.9 in 416 rice accessions collected from China.

Rice

There are a few songs that stick out as slightly lesser than the rest, like "Silent Screams," which seems almost too playful to blend with the Nirvana-esque brooding that's heavily and expertly served on Spines.

Huffington Post

The migration time-shift of Rho3EV (0.82 min) was slightly lesser than that of wild-type Rho3 (Figure 5D: left panel).

Plosone

magadii was slightly lesser than that of the large chromosomes of Htg.

BMC Genomics

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

46 human-written examples

The prosecutor had asked for six years, and standard practice in high-profile political trials is to hand down a slightly lesser sentence than the prosecution wants.

The New York Times

When I was playing, albeit for slightly lesser teams than Arsenal and Chelsea, I was always buzzing when we brought in a new lad.

Independent

"Flexible" CCS is effective at reducing GHG emissions, though to a slightly lesser extent than was observed via "fixed" CCS.

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

Students enrolled in semester six held the misconceptions to a slightly lesser degree than those enrolled in semesters one and four.

Pain Management Nursing

Although a critical and commercial hit, grossing more than $475 million worldwide, Return of the Jedi has, in the decades that followed, been considered by many critics and fans to be a slightly lesser achievement than its predecessors.

Wikipedia

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Opt for "slightly less than" for grammatical correctness and clarity. Although "slightly lesser than" is used, it is not considered standard English.

Common error

Remember that 'less' is generally used for uncountable nouns or abstract quantities, while 'fewer' is used for countable nouns. "Lesser" is an adjective meaning 'smaller' or 'of less importance' and should be used carefully. In comparative constructions, "less than" is almost always the correct choice.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "slightly lesser than" functions as a comparative, indicating that one thing is of a lower degree or quantity than another. Ludwig AI indicates this phrasing is not standard English; "slightly less than" is the grammatically correct alternative.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science

65%

News & Media

30%

Formal & Business

5%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "slightly lesser than" is relatively common, it's grammatically incorrect. The accurate and recommended alternative is "slightly less than". Ludwig AI marks "slightly lesser than" as incorrect. When aiming to express that something is a bit smaller or of a lower degree, prioritizing correctness and selecting "slightly less than" ensures clarity and professionalism. Though "slightly lesser than" appears in various sources, including news and scientific articles, opting for its corrected form is always preferable for maintaining grammatical integrity.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

slightly less than

Replaces "lesser" with "less", correcting the grammatical error while maintaining the meaning of a small difference in quantity or degree.

a bit smaller than

Substitutes "slightly" with "a bit" and "lesser" with "smaller", offering a more informal and easily understandable alternative.

marginally smaller than

Replaces "slightly" with "marginally" and "lesser" with "smaller", providing a more formal and precise nuance.

somewhat inferior to

Employs "somewhat" instead of "slightly" and "inferior to" instead of "lesser than", shifting the focus to a difference in quality or status.

fractionally smaller than

Uses "fractionally" instead of "slightly" and "smaller" instead of "lesser", highlighting that the difference is minute and expressed in fractions.

a shade below

Replaces the entire phrase with a more idiomatic expression indicating something is just a little below another thing.

just under

Offers a more concise alternative indicating a value is slightly below a certain point.

negligibly smaller than

Indicates the difference is so small it's almost not worth considering.

barely less than

Emphasizes how minimal the difference is between the two quantities.

scarcely smaller than

Highlights the near insignificance of the size difference.

FAQs

What is the correct way to say something is a little smaller?

The correct phrase is "slightly less than". For example, "The price is "slightly less than" I expected."

Is it grammatically correct to say "slightly lesser than"?

No, the grammatically correct phrasing is "slightly less than". "Lesser" is an adjective and not typically used in comparative constructions like this.

Are there alternatives to "slightly lesser than" that sound more natural?

Yes, you can use phrases such as "a bit smaller than", "marginally smaller than", or "somewhat inferior to" depending on the specific context.

Which is correct, "slightly less than" or "slightly lesser than"?

"Slightly less than" is the correct and preferred phrasing. "Slightly lesser than" is generally considered grammatically incorrect.