nearer
         adv 1: (comparative of `near' or `close') within a shorter
                  distance; "come closer, my dear!"; "they drew nearer";
                  "getting nearer to the true explanation" [syn: {nearer},
                  {nigher}, {closer}]

English Dictionary: nearer	by the DICT Development Group
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Narrow \Nar"row\, a. [Compar. {Narrower}; superl. {Narrowest}.]       [OE. narwe, naru, AS. nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.]       1. Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little             distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow             street; a narrow hem.                         Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas.                                                                               --Shak.          2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.                         The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a                      narrow compass in the world.               --Bp. Wilkins.          3. Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient             space, time, or number, etc.; close; near; -- with special             reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot;             a narrow escape; a narrow majority. --Dryden.          4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow             circumstances.          5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a             narrow mind; narrow views. [bd]A narrow understanding.[b8]             --Macaulay.          6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.                         A very narrow and stinted charity.      --Smalridge.          7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.                         But first with narrow search I must walk round This                      garden, and no corner leave unspied.   --Milton.          8. (Phon.) Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some             part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or             (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx;             -- distinguished from wide; as [c7] ([c7]ve) and [oomac]             (f[oomac]d), etc., from [cc] ([cc]ll) and [oocr]             (f[oocr]t), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 13.          Note: Narrow is not unfrequently prefixed to words,                especially to participles and adjectives, forming                compounds of obvious signification; as,                narrow-bordered, narrow-brimmed, narrow-breasted,                narrow-edged, narrow-faced, narrow-headed,                narrow-leaved, narrow-pointed, narrow-souled,                narrow-sphered, etc.          {Narrow gauge}. (Railroad) See Note under {Gauge}, n., 6.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Narrower \Nar"row*er\, n.       One who, or that which, narrows or contracts. --Hannah More.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Near \Near\, a. [Compar. {Nearer}; superl. {Nearest}.] [See       {Near}, adv.]       1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote;             close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. [bd]As one             near death.[b8] --Shak.                         He served great Hector, and was ever near, Not with                      his trumpet only, but his spear.         --Dryden.          2. Closely connected or related.                         She is thy father's near kinswoman.   --Lev. xviii.                                                                               12.          3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or             affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.          4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose,             or rambling; as, a version near to the original.          5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close;             narrow; as, a near escape.          6. Next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the Unted             States, on the left of an animal or a team; as, the near             ox; the near leg. See {Off side}, under {Off}, a.          7. Immediate; direct; close; short. [bd]The nearest way.[b8]             --Milton.          8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [Obs. or Low, Eng.]          Note: Near may properly be followed by to before the thing                approached'; but more frequently to is omitted, and the                adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition.                The same is also true of the word nigh.          Syn: Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present;                ready; intimate; dear.