minimum vs minimal
Definitions
noun
- the smallest possible quantity
- the point on a curve where the tangent changes from negative on the left to positive on the right
adjective
- the least possible
Examples
WorldCom promises not to impose a minimum call charge and no set up or monthly rental fee.
Employers and business groups contend that a higher minimum wage would saddle them with higher labor costs.
At a minimum, the Bush administration had better step up its promotion of the economy's current sizzling performance.
Definitions
adjective
- the least possible
Examples
Of course, Whitty himself ain’t exactly a peach; he loves him some torture, and buries knives in bellies with minimal provocation; when it comes to witch-hunting, he’s of the “burn her alive now, ask questions … well, don’t really bother asking questions, it’s just so damn fun to burn people, let’s do it some more!” school.
In present-day usage, despite Fowler's strictures, concern for classical and linguistic purity is minimal and the coining of etymological hybrids is casual and massive.
Efforts by tobacco companies to stop confectioners selling candy cigarettes in packs resembling cigarette brands seem to have been minimal.
