in the least
To any degree
In the least is an emphatic negative, meaning "at all" or "to any degree whatsoever." It appears almost exclusively with not or other negatives: I'm not in the least surprised, It didn't bother me in the least.
The phrase intensifies denial—stronger than simply saying no.
Questions sometimes use it to invite reassurance: Does it bother you in the least?
- not at allComplete negation phrase
- not in the slightestComplete emphatic denial
- no wayEmphatic denial
- scarcelyAlmost not
- at allTo any degree
in any way · barely · whatsoever · remotely · none · never · by no means · far from it · slightly · trivially · minimally · marginally · smallest · under no circumstances · negligibly · not one bit · faintly · fractionally
in the leastabundantly
In great quantity
extremely · enormously · immensely · tremendously · vastly
in the leastin every way
by all means · without question · absolutely · positively · decidedly
little, least, lessen, lesser, leastways, at least, leastwise