Thin-slice
verb
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To make quick inferences about something through thin-slicing. ambitransitive
"If you've ever changed seats on a train or crossed the road to avoid someone, because there was something "not quite right about them", you've used your ability to thin-slice. […] but we thin-slice people in all kinds of situations, not just when we feel threatened."
Example
More examples"If you've ever changed seats on a train or crossed the road to avoid someone, because there was something "not quite right about them", you've used your ability to thin-slice. […] but we thin-slice people in all kinds of situations, not just when we feel threatened."
Etymology
Back-formation from thin-slicing.
More for "thin-slice"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.