modicum — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A modest, small, or trifling amount.

   Synonyms

   iotajottittle

   Examples

   Unable to garner even a modicum of support for his plan, he conceded to follow the others.

   Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he vtters, his euaſions haue ears thus long. I haue bobed his braine more then he has beate my bones.

   More examples (11)

   He [Clement of Alexandria] ſhewes alſo that it is better (if a man do drinke) to take wine at ſupper than at dinner, yet a little modicum [...].

   For as a Poor Man has as Juſt a Title to the ſmall Modicum he enjoys, as has the Rich Man to his large Poſſeſſions; ſo the Travailer has as good a Title to his Money, as has the Robber to his Life.

   By the great, also, he [Robert Burns] was treated in the customary fashion, entertained at their tables, and dismissed. Certain modica of pudding and praise are from time to time gladly exchanged for the fascination of his presence, which exchange once effected, the bargain is finished, and each party goes off his several way.

   And time would fail us to enumerate the hundreds of lesser spirits who have employed their small modica of light, which they mistook for genius, as lamps allowing them to see their way more clearly down to the chambers of death.

   There he lay quiet and composed, sipping small modicums of brandy and water, and taking his outlook into such transtygian world as he had fashioned for himself in his dull imagination.

   We propose, and it is in Senator [Joseph Hurst] Ball's bill, I believe, that this [National Labor Relations] Board has got to stop deciding its cases on scintillas of evidence and imponderables and modicums and inferences, and stick to the facts.

   I have learned from experience that a modicum of snuff can be most efficacious.

   He drinks iced lemonade through a long straw, without moving, without even shifting his head, and thereby gains a modicum of inner coolness.

   Perhaps the majority of human endeavour can be reduced to the pursuit of additional modicums of comfort—like being slightly less tired, being slightly less bored, or just an evenly crispy piece of toast—small trifles, to which we quickly become accustomed.

   Now, anyone with a modicum of knowledge of the rail network and of union feeling on this matter will have realised that this was another way of saying 'no deal'.

   The constitutional requirement necessitates independent creation plus a modicum of creativity.

Noun

1. a small or moderate or token amount

   Broader terms

   small indefinite quantitysmall indefinite amount