The word "less" in literature is a versatile tool that authors employ to compare qualities, quantities, and intensities, often lending a subtle nuance to tone and meaning. In many works, such as Gibbon’s account of fortune [1] or Verne’s description of a safer yet less romantic scene [2], "less" functions to indicate a diminished degree relative to a contrastive element. It can compare physical quantities, as in Newton’s color observations [3], or temper character strengths—illustrated in expressions like “less perturbed” in Aurelius [4] or “less active” in military preparations [5]. Authors like Twain [6] and Strunk [7] sometimes play with the phrase “more or less,” blending precision with ambiguity, while others use "less" in time-sensitive contexts, such as noting periods "less than four months" [8]. Overall, "less" is used to subtly downscale descriptions, making differences in quality, duration, or intensity explicit without overwhelming the reader with absolute contrasts.