Did you know?
Minuscule comes from the Latin adjective minusculus ("somewhat smaller" or "fairly small"), which in turn pairs the base of minus ("smaller") with -culus, a diminutive suffix (that is, one indicating small size). The minuscule spelling is consistent with the word’s etymology, but that didn’t stop English speakers from adopting the variant spelling miniscule, likely because they associated it with the combining form mini- and such words as minimal and minimum. Usage commentators generally consider the miniscule spelling an error, but it is widely used in reputable and carefully edited publications, and is accepted as a legitimate variant in some dictionaries. (Our own dictionary identifies miniscule as a "disputed spelling variant.")
Examples of minuscule in a Sentence
Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 14 May 2025
Summer Benowitz with blob: An anthropomorphic blob attempts to turn itself back into a human — one minuscule, infuriating, frivolous, anxiety-provoking task at a time (a show about being in your 20s).
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025
The mazes are a way to picture a black hole’s microstructure—its minuscule quantum makeup.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 7 Apr. 2025
Furthermore, some folks have preferred to stay in triple tax-free municipal bonds with minuscule yields, instead of shifting part of their portfolio into higher returning areas of the market.
—Jonathan I. Shenkman, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for minuscule
Cite this Entry
“Minuscule.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minuscule. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share