slighted

1. 1
   adjective

   Treated with disdain or neglect; ignored in a way that shows disrespect.

   Like being talked over at a table where everyone else's voice carries.

   He felt deeply slighted when his closest friend forgot to invite him.

   The slighted ambassador cut his visit short and flew home that evening.

   Similaroffended, hurt, affronted

   Oppositehonored, respected, flattered

   Note

   Here the hurt lies in the intent. The person is not merely overlooked, as with the "unimportant" meaning, but overlooked on purpose, often out of prejudice, hatred or jealousy. That is why it sits so naturally after feel and with intensifiers like deeply. It is also why a slighted guest or envoy may answer the insult with a pointed gesture of their own.

2. 2
   adjective

   Shown little regard, as though unimportant or undeserving of attention.

   The junior researchers felt slighted, their findings brushed aside at every meeting.

   He came away slighted, convinced the panel had dismissed his application without reading it.

   Similaroverlooked, dismissed, disregarded

   Oppositevalued, appreciated, respected, recognized

3. 3
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of slight.

   The critic slighted the novel in his review, dismissing it in a single line.

   She had slighted her hosts without meaning to, and spent the next day apologizing.

   Note

   One regular spelling does both jobs: she slighted her hosts (simple past), and she had been slighted (participle after have or be). The verb also has a military life. To slight a castle or wall is to demolish it so it can no longer be defended, so a slighted fortress is a wrecked one, not an offended one. An obsolete use meant simply to make something level.

4. 4
   adjective

   Cheated or short-changed; given less than one is owed.

   The workers felt slighted when their promised bonuses turned out to be a fraction of the amount.

   She left the dealership feeling slighted, certain the trade-in value had been deliberately lowballed.

   Similarcheated, shafted

   Note

   A money sense that sits uneasily with the rest of the word, and it counts as an error rather than an established meaning. Everywhere else slight concerns attention and respect, not payment, so a reader may hear a snub where you meant a swindle. When the grievance is about money, cheated or short-changed says it plainly. Keep slighted for the sense of being snubbed.

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