Li'l
/[lɪɫ]/ adj
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Pronunciation spelling of little. alt-of, pronunciation-spelling
"" Go s'eepy, baby; don' you be 'Paid; mammy ain' gwine let nuffin' hu't you, even ef pappy don' wan' look at huh li'l face. Bye, bye, go s'eepy, mammy's li'l gal.""
- 2 Generic intensifier.
"This li'l puppy is adorable!"
Example
More examples"" Go s'eepy, baby; don' you be 'Paid; mammy ain' gwine let nuffin' hu't you, even ef pappy don' wan' look at huh li'l face. Bye, bye, go s'eepy, mammy's li'l gal.""
Etymology
Contracted from little, especially as pronounced with flapping, when the /t/ is barely audible.
Related phrases
More for "li'l"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.