flaccid

[ flas-id, flak-sid ]

adjective

1. soft and limp; not firm; flabby:

   flaccid biceps.

2. lacking force; weak:

   flaccid prose.

flaccid

/ ˈflæs-; ˈflæksɪd /

adjective

1. lacking firmness; soft and limp; flabby

Derived Forms

• ˈflaccidly, adverb
• flacˈcidity, noun

Other Words From

• flac·cid·i·ty [fla-, sid, -i-tee, flak-], flac·cid·ness noun
• flac·cid·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of flaccid¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin flaccidus “flabby, drooping,” equivalent to flacc(ēre) “to grow weak, languish” + -idus -id ⁴

Word History and Origins

Origin of flaccid¹

C17: from Latin flaccidus , from flaccus

Example Sentences

In our less sexist age, Barack Obama has nevertheless found his Syria policy called “flaccid” and “impotent.”

From The Daily Beast

Waiting for a taxi, he breathed in the spicy, flaccid atmosphere of the city and felt the strangeness of things around him.

From The Daily Beast

There was a vicious aching in his nerves, his muscles were flaccid and unstrung; a numbness was in his brain as well.

From Project Gutenberg

The great hope after all lies in the knotless, rather flaccid character of the people.

From Project Gutenberg

His tail is not prehensile but flaccid, and half as long again as his head and body.

From Project Gutenberg

The two men went to the conservatory and gazed in upon a ruin of limp leaves and flaccid petals, killed by the powerful gases.

From Project Gutenberg

Fie, fie upon the flaccid, castrated century, that has no other use than to chew over again the deeds of the past.

From Project Gutenberg