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miniature

noun · adjective · verb

Simple meaning

A small version of something.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mineeuhchuur

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmɪniətʃʊɹ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A small version of something; a model of reduced scale.

  2. Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.

  3. A copy that reproduces a person or thing in greatly reduced size

  4. The art of painting such highly detailed miniature works.

  5. An illustration in an illuminated manuscript.

  6. A musical composition which is short in duration.

adjective

  1. Smaller than normal.

verb

  1. transitive

    To make smaller than normal; to reproduce in miniature.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
General and technical use

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A small version of something; a model of reduced scale.

Used this way, miniature is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use miniature

  • “There was a miniature of a whaling ship in a glass bottle over the mantlepiece.”noun
  • “Sacha composed a miniature for strings as a final project at the conservatory.”noun
  • “I find miniature dogs annoying; they seem to yap more than full-size dogs.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

miniature golfminiature paintinglike miniatureminiature versionminiature painterminiature portraitminiature worldminiature scale

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • miniature pinschernounCompound term

    Small German version of a Doberman pinscher.

  • miniature poodlenounCompound term

    A breed of small poodles.

  • miniature schnauzernounCompound term

    A small schnauzer.

  • miniature fan palmnounCompound term

    Small graceful palm with reedlike stems and leaf bases clothed with loose coarse fibers.

  • miniature golfnounCompound term

    A novelty version of golf played with golf balls and putters on a miniature course featuring many obstacles.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.