See less is more on Wiktionary
{
"antonyms": [
{
"word": "less is a bore"
},
{
"word": "more is more"
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "less is more",
"name": "en-proverb"
}
],
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"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "proverb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "55 45",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English proverbs",
"parents": [],
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}
],
"glosses": [
"That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality."
],
"id": "en-less_is_more-en-proverb-Zu1CMFHU",
"qualifier": "paradox",
"raw_glosses": [
"(paradox, oxymoron) That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality."
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "24 76",
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{
"_dis": "36 64",
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{
"_dis": "17 83",
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},
{
"_dis": "20 80",
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},
{
"_dis": "16 84",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "17 83",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "15 85",
"kind": "other",
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"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "19 81",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "36 64",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Greek translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
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{
"_dis": "34 66",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "17 83",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Korean translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "34 66",
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "18 82",
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"source": "w+disamb"
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{
"_dis": "19 81",
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},
{
"_dis": "16 84",
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"name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
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"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "25 75",
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "16 84",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1855, Robert Browning, \"Andrea del Sarto\" poem in Men and Women collection",
"text": "Well, less is more, Lucrezia: I am judged."
},
{
"ref": "1954 June 14, “‘Less Is More’”, in Time:",
"text": "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.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2007 March 3, Gia Kourlas, “Dance Review: An Ordered World Defined With Soothing Spareness”, in New York Times, retrieved 2008-10-22:",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"id": "en-less_is_more-en-proverb-eYoF5YVq",
"links": [
[
"complicated",
"complicated"
],
[
"understood",
"understood"
],
[
"appreciated",
"appreciated"
],
[
"brevity",
"brevity"
],
[
"communication",
"communication"
],
[
"verbosity",
"verbosity"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"english": "some contexts",
"word": "a little goes a long way"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "al-ʔaqall huwa l-ʔakṯar",
"sense": "less is more",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "الْأَقَلّ هُوَ الْأَكْثَر"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "al-qullā hiya l-kuṯrā",
"sense": "less is more",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "الْقُلَّى هِيَ الْكُثْرَى"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "shǎojíshìduō",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "少即是多"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wùyǐxīwéiguì",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "物以稀为贵"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "méně je více"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "minder is meer"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "vähemmän on enemmän"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "moins, c’est plus"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "weniger ist mehr"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "ouk en to polló to ef",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "ουκ εν τω πολλώ το ευ"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "grc",
"lang": "Ancient Greek",
"roman": "ouk en tôi pollôi tò eû",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "οὐκ ἐν τῷ πολλῷ τὸ εὖ"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "a kevesebb több"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "a kevesebb néha több"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "jeogeun geosi deo manta",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "적은 것이 더 많다"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "هرچه کمتربهتر"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "mniej znaczy więcej"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "menos é mais"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"note": "is fheàrr an teine beag a gharas na an teine mòr a loisgeas",
"sense": "less is more"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "less is more"
},
{
"_dis1": "10 90",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"note": "mindre är mer (literally, but more common as an untranslated loan)",
"sense": "less is more"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/lɛs ɪz ˈmɔː/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/lɛs ɪz ˈmɔɹ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
}
],
"word": "less is more"
}
{
"antonyms": [
{
"word": "less is a bore"
},
{
"word": "more is more"
}
],
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English oxymorons",
"English proverbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Ancient Greek translations",
"Terms with Arabic translations",
"Terms with Czech translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Korean translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Persian translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations"
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "less is more",
"name": "en-proverb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "proverb",
"senses": [
{
"glosses": [
"That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality."
],
"qualifier": "paradox",
"raw_glosses": [
"(paradox, oxymoron) That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality."
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1855, Robert Browning, \"Andrea del Sarto\" poem in Men and Women collection",
"text": "Well, less is more, Lucrezia: I am judged."
},
{
"ref": "1954 June 14, “‘Less Is More’”, in Time:",
"text": "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.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2007 March 3, Gia Kourlas, “Dance Review: An Ordered World Defined With Soothing Spareness”, in New York Times, retrieved 2008-10-22:",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"links": [
[
"complicated",
"complicated"
],
[
"understood",
"understood"
],
[
"appreciated",
"appreciated"
],
[
"brevity",
"brevity"
],
[
"communication",
"communication"
],
[
"verbosity",
"verbosity"
]
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],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/lɛs ɪz ˈmɔː/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/lɛs ɪz ˈmɔɹ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"english": "some contexts",
"word": "a little goes a long way"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "al-ʔaqall huwa l-ʔakṯar",
"sense": "less is more",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "الْأَقَلّ هُوَ الْأَكْثَر"
},
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "al-qullā hiya l-kuṯrā",
"sense": "less is more",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "الْقُلَّى هِيَ الْكُثْرَى"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "shǎojíshìduō",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "少即是多"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wùyǐxīwéiguì",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "物以稀为贵"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "méně je více"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "minder is meer"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "vähemmän on enemmän"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "moins, c’est plus"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "weniger ist mehr"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "ouk en to polló to ef",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "ουκ εν τω πολλώ το ευ"
},
{
"code": "grc",
"lang": "Ancient Greek",
"roman": "ouk en tôi pollôi tò eû",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "οὐκ ἐν τῷ πολλῷ τὸ εὖ"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "a kevesebb több"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "a kevesebb néha több"
},
{
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "jeogeun geosi deo manta",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "적은 것이 더 많다"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "هرچه کمتربهتر"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "mniej znaczy więcej"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "menos é mais"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"note": "is fheàrr an teine beag a gharas na an teine mòr a loisgeas",
"sense": "less is more"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "less is more",
"word": "less is more"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"note": "mindre är mer (literally, but more common as an untranslated loan)",
"sense": "less is more"
}
],
"word": "less is more"
}
Download raw JSONL data for less is more meaning in All languages combined (4.9kB)
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
"msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: paradox, oxymoron",
"path": [
"less is more"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "proverb",
"title": "less is more",
"trace": ""
}
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
"msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: paradox, oxymoron",
"path": [
"less is more"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "proverb",
"title": "less is more",
"trace": ""
}
{
"called_from": "translations/609-20230504",
"msg": "Translation too long compared to word, so it is skipped",
"path": [
"less is more"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "proverb",
"title": "less is more",
"trace": ""
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.