I. min ‧ ia ‧ ture 1 /ˈmɪnətʃə, ˈmɪnɪtʃə $ ˈmɪniətʃər/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
much smaller than normal:
miniature roses
a miniature railway
He looked like a miniature version of his father.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ very small
▪ tiny very small – used about objects, numbers, or amounts:
a tiny island
|
Dairy foods provide your body with a tiny amount of vitamin D.
▪ teeny informal very small - used for emphasis:
I'll just have a teeny bit of cream.
|
There's just one teeny little problem.
|
a teeny little house
▪ minute extremely small and extremely difficult to see or notice:
They found minute traces of poison in his body.
|
The differences are minute.
|
minute creatures
▪ miniature a miniature camera, watch, railway etc is made in a very small size. A miniature horse, dog etc is bred to be a very small size:
The spy used a miniature camera.
|
the fashion for miniature pets
▪ microscopic extremely small and impossible to see without special equipment:
microscopic organisms
|
microscopic particles of dust
▪ minuscule /ˈmɪnəskjuːl, ˈmɪnɪskjuːl/ extremely small in a surprising way:
She was wearing a minuscule bikini.
|
The threat from terrorism is minuscule compared to other risks in our lives.
▪ itty-bitty/itsy-bitsy [only before noun] American English informal very small:
An itty-bitty little bug crawled across his forehead.
|
We stayed at some itty-bitty hotel in a back street.
II. miniature 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Italian ; Origin: miniatura 'art of drawing small pictures in a book' , from Latin miniare 'to color with minium' , from minium 'red substance used for coloring pictures in old books' ; influenced by minute and minimum ]
1 . in miniature exactly like something or someone but much smaller:
She’s her mother in miniature.
2 . [countable] a very small painting, usually of a person
3 . [countable] a very small bottle containing an alcoholic drink:
a miniature of whiskey