Learn Arabic › B2 › ضَئِيل
ضَئِيل
slight, faint, or meager /dˤaˈʔiːl/
adjectiveB2#3226 most common
Also: feeble, puny, scant
Example sentences
جِسْمُهُ ضَئِيلٌ.
His body is frail.
لَدَيْهِ فُرْصَةٌ ضَئِيلَةٌ لِلنَّجَاحِ.
He has a slim chance of success.
كَانَ الضَّوْءُ ضَئِيلًا فِي الغُرْفَةِ.
The light in the room was faint.
تَبْقَى الفَوَارِقُ بَيْنَ الفَرِيقَيْنِ ضَئِيلَةً رَغْمَ التَّدْرِيبِ المُكَثَّفِ.
The gap between the two teams stays slight despite intensive training.
عَلَى الرَّغْمِ مِنَ الجُهُودِ الكَبِيرَةِ، كَانَتِ النَّتَائِجُ ضَئِيلَةً وَلَمْ تُلَبِّ التَّوَقُّعَاتِ.
Despite the great effort, the results were meager and fell short of expectations.
تَظَلُّ الِاحْتِمَالَاتُ الإِحْصَائِيَّةُ لِحُدُوثِ مِثْلِ هَذَا التَّقَارُبِ الكَوْنِيِّ ضَئِيلَةً إِلَى حَدٍّ يَكَادُ يَنْفِي وُقُوعَهُ مُصَادَفَةً.
The statistical odds of such a cosmic alignment occurring stay so slight that they nearly rule out chance.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ضَئِيلٌ | ضِئَالٌ |
| Genitive | ضَئِيلٍ | ضِئَالٍ |
| Accusative | ضَئِيلًا | ضِئَالًا |
| Vocative | يَا ضَئِيلُ | يَا ضِئَالُ |
Word family
ضَؤُلَto become small or slight
تَضَاءَلَto dwindle, shrink
ضَآلَةsmallness, insignificance
تَضَاؤُلdwindling, decline
ضَئِيلَةslight, feeble (feminine)
Etymology
The word comes from the native Arabic triliteral root ض ء ل, whose core sense is to be small, slight, or weak. The adjective takes the فَعِيل pattern, which often marks a fixed quality or state. It is a Semitic root with no established link to Indo-European vocabulary.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free