few

few
    adj 1: a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is
           often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number; "a
           few weeks ago"; "a few more wagons than usual"; "an
           invalid's pleasures are few and far between"; "few roses
           were still blooming"; "few women have led troops in
           battle" [ant: {many}]
    n 1: a small elite group; "it was designed for the
         discriminating few"
    

Few \Few\ (f[=u]), a. [Compar. {Fewer} (f[=u]"[~e]r); superl.
   {Fewest}.] [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. fe['a], pl. fe['a]we; akin
   to OS. f[=a]h, OHG. f[=o] fao, Icel. f[=a]r, Sw. f[*a], pl.,
   Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. pay^ros. Cf.
   {Paucity}.]
   Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; --
   indicating a small portion of units or individuals
   constituting a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few
   people. "Are not my days few?" --Job x. 20.
   [1913 Webster]

         Few know and fewer care.                 --Proverb.
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   Note: Few is often used partitively; as, few of them.
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   {A few}, a small number.

   {In few}, in a few words; briefly. --Shak.

   {No few}, not few; more than a few; many. --Cowper.

   {The few}, the minority; -- opposed to the many or the
      majority.
      [1913 Webster]
    

50 Moby Thesaurus words for "few":
      cursory, depthless, footling, handful, hardly any, inconsequential,
      inconsiderable, insignificant, least, little, littlest, low,
      lowest, meager, miniature, minim, minimum, negligible,
      no great shakes, not many, occasional, of small number, petty,
      picayune, picayunish, precious little, rare, scarce, scarcely any,
      scattering, seldom, shallow, short, shortest, skin-deep, slightest,
      small, smallest, smatter, smattering, spatter, spattering,
      sporadic, sprinkling, superficial, tiny, trifling, trivial,
      uncommon, unfrequent