thin-slicing

noun

The process or ability of making quick (and often accurate) inferences about the state or characteristics of someone or something based only on minimal information or experience (“thin slices”).

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Meanings

nounthin-slicing (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesThe process or ability of making quick (and often accurate) inferences about the state or characteristics of someone or something based only on minimal information or experience (“thin slices”).

    "Thin-slicing" refers to the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behaviour based on very narrow slices of experience. […] Thin-slicing is not an exotic gift. It is a central part of what it means to be human.

    2009 March 7, Rosie Ifould, “Acting on impulse”, in The Guardian
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of thin-slice
Cite this entry
APA

thin-slicing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin-slicing

MLA

“thin-slicing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin-slicing. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thin-slicing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thin-slicing.

Source: thin-slicing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.