niewielkim

Niewielkim is the instrumental singular masculine and neuter form of the Polish adjective niewielki, which means not very large, small, or limited in extent. In usage, niewielkim is most often found in constructions that express degree or amount, typically preceding a noun in the instrumental case, as in phrases describing scope, cost, or effort.

The base form niewielki is formed with the negative prefix nie- attached to wielki (big, large). The resulting adjective conveys a modest or limited sense and is common in both spoken and written Polish. The instrumental singular channelled by niewielkim is used with masculine and neuter nouns, while feminine forms differ (for example, niewielką in the instrumental feminine). Plural forms appear as niewielkimi in the instrumental plural.

Typical collocations include niewielkim stopniu (to a small extent), niewielkim kosztem (at a modest cost), and niewielkim nakładem pracy (with a small amount of effort). The expression w niewielkim stopniu is a standard way to indicate partial or limited degree, and is widely used in formal descriptions, reports, and analyses.

Etymology traces niewielki to the negating prefix nie- attached to wielki, yielding a word that conveys the opposite of large. The form niewielkim reflects standard Polish inflection rules for adjectives in the instrumental case. In contemporary usage, niewielkim remains a precise and neutral descriptor for modest quantities, degrees, or scales, without the stronger connotations of words like maly or skromny in some contexts.