less is more
proverbUK /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔː/ · US /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔɹ/
1
That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality.
2
That which is less complicated is often better understood and more appreciated than what is more complicated; brevity in communication is more effective than verbosity.
- Well, less is more, Lucrezia: I am judged.1855, Robert Browning, "Andrea del Sarto" poem in Men and Women collection
- The essence of Mies's architectural philosophy is in his famous and sometimes derided phrase, "Less is more." This means, he says, having "the greatest effect with the least means."1954 June 14, “‘Less Is More’”, in Time:
1 more example
- The program, which features two premieres—"Songs," a solo, and "The Pleasure of Stillness," a quartet—is founded on the notion that less is more.2007 March 3, Gia Kourlas, “Dance Review: An Ordered World Defined With Soothing Spareness”, in New York Times, retrieved 22 Oct 2008:
- Synonyms
- a little goes a long way
- Antonyms
- less is a bore, more is more