What's the difference between less and lesser?

Less


Definition:

  • (conj.) Unless.
  • (a.) Smaller; not so large or great; not so much; shorter; inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less size or value; in less time than before.
  • (adv.) Not so much; in a smaller or lower degree; as, less bright or loud; less beautiful.
  • (n.) A smaller portion or quantity.
  • (n.) The inferior, younger, or smaller.
  • (v. t.) To make less; to lessen.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) However, patients with GGBHS were significantly older (P less than .05).
  • (2) The percentage of people with less than 10 TU titers is under 5% after the age of 5 years up to 15 years; from 15 to 60 years there are no subjects with undetectable ASO titer and after this age the percentage is still under 5%.
  • (3) Neuromedin B (C50 6 x 10(-12) M) was 3 times less potent than bombesin-14.
  • (4) The patterns observed were: clusters of granules related to the cell membrane; positive staining localized to portions of the cell membrane, and, less commonly, the whole cell circumference.
  • (5) This suggested that the chemical effects produced by shock waves were either absent or attenuated in the cells, or were inherently less toxic than those of ionizing irradiation.
  • (6) Patients with papillary carcinoma with a good cell-mediated immune response occurred with much lower infiltration of the tumor boundary with lymphocyte whereas the follicular carcinoma less cell-mediated immunity was associated with dense lymphocytic infiltration, suggesting the biological relevance of lymphocytic infiltration may be different for the two histologic variants.
  • (7) In contrast, resting cells of strain CHA750 produced five times less IAA in a buffer (pH 6.0) containing 1 mM-L-tryptophan than did resting cells of the wild-type, illustrating the major contribution of TSO to IAA synthesis under these conditions.
  • (8) This bone could not be degraded by human monocytes in vitro as well as control bone (only 54% of control; P less than 0.003).
  • (9) Arachidic acid was without effect, while linoleic acid and linolenic acid were (on a concentration basis) at least 5-times less active than arachidonic acid.
  • (10) Urinary ANF immunoreactivity was significantly enhanced by candoxatril in both groups (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01 in groups 1 and 2, respectively), with a more pronounced effect evident at the higher dose (P less than 0.01).
  • (11) However, dexamethasone was more effective than either prednisone or cortisol (P less than 0.001).
  • (12) With UVB treatment clinical improvement was achieved, and a less pronounced decrease in epidermal LC was noticed.
  • (13) In the bars of Antwerp and the cafes of Bruges, the talk is less of Christmas markets and hot chocolate than of the rising cost of financing a national debt which stands at 100% of annual national income.
  • (14) When perfusion of the affected lung was less than one-third of the total the tumour was found to be unresectable.
  • (15) This clinical improvement was also associated with a decrease of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p less than 0.001), decrease of C-reactive protein (p less than 0.0001) and with improvement of anaemia (p less than 0.05).
  • (16) However, the groups often paused less and responded faster than individual rats working under identical conditions.
  • (17) By 24 hr, rough endoplasmic reticulum in thecal cells increased from 4.2 to 7% of cell volume, while the amount in granulosa cells increased from less than 3.5% to more than 10%; the quantity remained relatively constant in the theca but declined to prestimulation values in the granulosa layer.
  • (18) Acceptance of less than ideal donors is ill-advised even though rejection of such donors conflicts with the current shortage of organs.
  • (19) Ten out of 12 (83%) tumours which had c-erbB-2 and c-erbA co-amplification had metastasised to axillary lymph nodes (P less than 0.006).
  • (20) Despite of the increasing diagnostic importance of the direct determination of the parathormone which is at first available only in special institutions in these cases methodical problems play a less important part than the still not infrequent appearing misunderstanding of the adequate basic disease.

Lesser


Definition:

  • (a.) Less; smaller; inferior.
  • (adv.) Less.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The high transition enthalpy for kerasin is ascribed to a lesser accommodation of gauche conformers in the hydrocarbon chains just below the transition temperature.
  • (2) Accidentally discovered nearly 40 years ago as the first true antidepressants, the MAOIs soon fell into disfavor due to concerns about toxicity and seemingly lesser efficacy compared with the newer tricyclic compounds.
  • (3) Comparison of the 50% binding concentrations of the compounds for the various PBPs of the five strains with their antibacterial activity indicates that the different antibiotics are excluded to a greater or lesser degree by the outer membrane permeability barrier and that the exclusion is most pronounced in P. aeruginosa.
  • (4) The analysis of blood lead concentration revealed an evident biological response to this environmental change: there was a decrease in blood lead level between 1977 and 1987, in both the countryside (control group) and, to a lesser extent, in the city.
  • (5) While the heaviest anterogradely labeled ascending projections were observed to the contralateral ventral posterolateral nucleus of the thalamus, pars oralis (VPLo), efferent projections were also observed to the contralateral ventrolateral thalamic nucleus (VLc) and central lateral (CL) nucleus of the thalamic intralaminar complex, magnocellular (and to a lesser extent parvicellular) red nucleus, nucleus of Darkschewitsch, zona incerta, nucleus of the posterior commissure, lateral intermediate layer and deep layer of the superior colliculus, dorsolateral periaqueductal gray, contralateral nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis and basilar pontine nuclei (especially dorsal and peduncular), and dorsal (DAO) and medial (MAO) accessory olivary nuclei, ipsilateral lateral (external) cuneate nucleus (LCN) and lateral reticular nucleus (LRN), and to a lesser extent the caudal medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) and caudal nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH), and dorsal medullary raphe.
  • (6) Higher anxiety, depression and psychiatric morbidity scores were reported by all patients at 6 and, to a lesser extent, at 12 weeks with greater differences in women.
  • (7) Beta 1 activity increased during the first 10 min of KB in occipital and to a lesser degree in parietal regions.
  • (8) Testis MAPs promoted microtubule assembly, but to a lesser degree than brain MAPs.
  • (9) Following injections of HRP into the apex of the heart, the sinoatrial (SA) nodal region and the ventral wall of the right ventricle, we observed that HRP-labeled sympathetic neurons were localized predominantly in the right stellate ganglia, and to a lesser extent, in the right superior and middle cervical ganglia, and left stellate ganglia.
  • (10) The ampullar epithelium showed similar changes, but to a lesser extent.
  • (11) Mucosal drying medications and senile salivary gland atrophy seemed to contribute to the high frequency of sicca in this population with a lesser proportion of the subjects demonstrating previously undiagnosed Sjögren's and possible Sjögren's syndrome.
  • (12) The antibody reacted with adult as well as with cord red cells, and its reactivity was strongly diminished by treatment of the cells with neuraminidase and to a lesser degree by treatment with protease.
  • (13) A lesser inhibitory effect (a decrease in the rate of precipitation) was observed when gallbladder bile was diluted but was lost after 10-fold dilution.
  • (14) The pump function of the heart (oxygen debt dynamics), the anaerobic threshold (complex of gas analytical indices), and the efficacy of blood flow in lesser circulation (O2 consumption plateau) were appraised.
  • (15) From the 32nd week on, the twins' mean weekly BPD increment decreased, this lesser growth rate being more marked than that of singletons.
  • (16) DR(+) cells, however, showed no change in percentage and a lesser drop in absolute numbers, suggesting an increase with advancing disease of DR(+), Ig(-) null cells, which may represent immature B cell precursors.
  • (17) Inositol prevented the glucocorticoid-induced decrease in lung protein and, to a lesser extent, the decrease in DNA.
  • (18) He got away with a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and served five years.
  • (19) The depletion is more effective in axonal and synaptic regions (85-90%) than in the somata (55%), is reasonably specific for serotonin (dopamine is affected to a much lesser extent), and is transient, with normal levels of neurotransmitter being restored by 2 months.
  • (20) Since ED50 values are a measure of cellular sensitivity (the greater the ED50 value the lesser the cellular sensitivity), the order of sensitivity to ACTH was ADW greater than K greater than SLD and the order of sensitivity to pregnenolone was ADW greater than K = SLD.