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The hydrogen adsorption free energy on sulfided Mo edges for MoS2 (ΔGGH = 80 meV) is slightly too weak.

is the phrase "slightly too weak" ok here?

"Slightly" means 'to a small degree" while "too" means "to a higher degree". So I am not sure whether this combination is correct.

Em.
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tosh
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  • It's fine. I might ask "Slightly too weak for what?", though. – Mick Oct 26 '16 at 06:12
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    You need to provide more details, like what you think this means, and what you intend to convey. We can't guarantee that you are expressing yourself correctly without more information. – Em. Oct 26 '16 at 06:15
  • "Slightly" means 'to a small degree" while "too" means "to a higher degree". So I am not sure whether this combination is correct. – tosh Oct 26 '16 at 06:19

1 Answers1

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Your phrase

slightly too weak

is perfectly understandable and correct with the meaning of

weaker than weak, but not quite as weak as too weak

The car is slightly too weak to pull the boat, if the boat was 10 pounds lighter it would work.

At 4 foot 11 inches, David is slightly too short for the 5 foot ride.

In order of weakness

weak
slightly too weak
too weak

just as in

expensive ($100)
slightly too expensive ($500)
too expensive ($1,000)
much too expensive ($10,000)
very much too expensive ($100,000)
Holy Cow! ($1,000,000)

The use of "slightly" (less) partially cancels out the use of "too" (more).

Peter
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