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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

less is more en · X

Pronunciation

  • /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔɹ/ (General-American)

Meanings

  1. (qualifier:paradox) That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality.
  2. That which is less complicated is often better understood and more appreciated than what is more complicated; brevity in communication is more effective than verbosity.
    • Well, less is more, Lucrezia: I am judged. 1855, Robert Browning, "Andrea del Sarto" poem in Men and Women collection
    • The program, which features two premieres—"Songs," a solo, and "The Pleasure of Stillness," a quartet—is founded on the notion that less is more. 2007 March 3, Gia Kourlas, “Dance Review: An Ordered World Defined With Soothing Spareness”, in New York Times, retrieved 22 Oct 2008:
    • The essence of Mies's architectural philosophy is in his famous and sometimes derided phrase, "Less is more." This means, he says, having "the greatest effect with the least means." 1954 June 14, “‘Less Is More’”, in Time:

Antonyms

less is a bore · more is more

Synonyms

a little goes a long way

Translations (18)

grc οὐκ ἐν τῷ πολλῷ τὸ εὖ (less is more) · sv less is more (less is more) · nl minder is meer (less is more) · el ουκ εν τω πολλώ το ευ (less is more) · pt menos é mais (less is more) · hu a kevesebb néha több (less is more) · fr moins, c’est plus (less is more) · cs méně je více (less is more) · de weniger ist mehr (less is more) · es menos es más (less is more) · pl mniej znaczy więcej (less is more) · cmn 少即是多 (less is more) · fa هرچه کمتربهتر (less is more) · hu a kevesebb több (less is more) · ru лу́чше ме́ньше, да лу́чше (less is more) · cmn 物以稀为贵 (less is more) · fi vähemmän on enemmän (less is more) · ko 적은 것이 더 많다 (less is more)