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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
fungicide germicide herbicide insecticide microbicide pesticide toxicant
bane poison toxic toxin venom
cancer contagion disease virus
few
pronoun
ˈfyü
plural in construction

Definition (Entry 1 of 3)

  • not many persons or things //few were present //few of his stories are true
adjective

Definition (Entry 2 of 3)

  • consisting of or amounting to only a small number //one of our few pleasures
  • at least some but indeterminately small in number —used with a //caught a few fish
  • few ​and ​far ​between
    few in number and infrequently met rare
noun
plural in construction

Definition (Entry 3 of 3)

  • a small number of units or individuals //a few of them
  • a special limited number //the discriminating few
Other Words
Adjective
  • few​ness noun
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms: Noun
couple handful scatter scattering smatter smattering sprinkle sprinkling
Antonyms: Noun
army crowd flock gazillion horde host jillion kazillion legion loads many mountain multitude oodles scads thousands zillion
Examples
Adjective
  • //He caught fewer fish than the rest of us.
  • //There are fewer children at the school this year.
  • //Not many people came, but the few people who did enjoyed themselves.
Noun
  • //a few of the songs on the album are good, but most are forgettable
First Known Use
Pronoun
before 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
before 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
before 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
History and Etymology
Pronoun and Adjective
Middle English fewe, pronoun & adjective, from Old English fēawa; akin to Old High German fō little, Latin paucus little, pauper poor, Greek paid-, pais child, Sanskrit putra son
few
noun

Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)

  • a small number //a few of the songs on the album are good, but most are forgettable
    Synonyms
    couple handful scatter scattering smatter smattering sprinkle sprinkling
    Related Words
    minority
    atom crumb fragment grain iota jot modicum molecule particle scrap shred tittle whit
    Near Antonyms
    majority most
    abundance excess plenty surplus
    deal gobs heap