adjectives - Smaller vs. less vs. lesser


I am confused as to some of the vocabulary that can be used to compare numbers and quantities, and would very much appreciate some clarification.



  • I suppose it is safe to say that 1 is smaller than 2.

  • Can I also say that 1 is less than 2, and if so, which form is preferable?

  • It seems that saying that 1 is lesser than 2 is uncommon - but is it incorrect?

  • Finally, -2 is clearly less than -1, but is it true that -2 is smaller than -1?
    (If I have 2$ of debt, then I would say that I have less money than if I had 1$ of debt, but I would also say that my debt was larger, not smaller).




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