infinitesimal
Other forms: infinitesimally; infinitesimals
When it's incalculably small, when teensy seems large compared to it, then it is infinitesimal. "The equipment was so sensitive that even the infinitesimal dust molecules that swept in with the open door altered the readings."
Infinitesimal is such an extreme description of a microscopic something that the word is used as an exaggeration more often than to describe something actually quite small. "The chances of Roxy going out on a date with Norbert were infinitesimal. She barely even knew he existed." Infinitesimal is derived from the root infinite, which usually conjures up thoughts of immeasurably large quantities or sizes. But in this case, infinite connotes something immeasurably small.
-
infinitely or immeasurably small
-
(mathematics) a variable that has zero as its limit
-
type of:
-
variable, variable quantity
a quantity that can assume any of a set of values
-
variable, variable quantity
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
A paragraph of text
Copy citationVocabulary lists containing infinitesimal
Koffi, a sixteen-year-old indentured worker at the Night Zoo, joins forces with Ekon, the son of a decorated hero, to hunt down a dangerous creature that is threatening their home.
To illustrate his thesis that math is the foundation of human progress, Alex Bellos details achievements throughout time and cultures.
Science journalist Charles Seife discusses the history of the number zero, from its origin as an Eastern philosophical concept to its rise as an important tool in mathematics to its current threat to modern physics.
Look up infinitesimal for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
