区别辨析marginal、minor、negligible与minimal

marginal、minor、negligible与minimal这些形容词均含“不重要的、次要的”之意。

marginal : 指处于边缘,幅度、范围小,故价值或重要性不大。

  • The report suggests that there has only been a marginal improvement in women's pay over the past few years.
    报告显示,过去几年女性的工资只有小幅增长。

minor : 多指与别的比较后显得不重要,或指较少、较小。

  • It's only a minor problem.
    那只是个小问题。
  • There's been an increase in minor offences, such as traffic violations and petty theft.
    轻微的违法活动有所增加,如违反交通规则、小偷小摸等。
  • She suffered only minor injuries.
    她只是受了点轻伤。

negligible : 指数量小,不重要,微不足道或可忽略不计。

  • The difference between the two products is negligible.
    两种产品之间的差异微乎其微。
  • My knowledge of German is negligible.
    我对德语只是略知一二。

minimal : 指最少、最低或最小。

  • There were no injuries and damage to the building was minimal.
    没有人受伤,对建筑物的损坏也极小。