lissome

American  

[lis-uhm] / ˈlɪs əm /

Or lissom

adjective

1. lithesome or lithe, especially of body; supple; flexible.

   Antonyms:

   rigid

2. agile, nimble, or active.

   Antonyms:

   clumsy

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lissomely
  adverb
• lissomeness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of lissome

First recorded in 1790–1800; variant of lithesome ( def. )

Explanation

Lissome describes people or things that are slender, flexible, light, and graceful. If you watch long, thin blades of grass swishing in the breeze, they look like lissome dancers with swaying arms and torsos. Some examples of lissome bodies are those of mermaids twisting through the water, small snakes squiggling into sand piles, and men and women who bound up stairs as if they're light as air. A straw is thin and bendy, and you can use it to lift some liquid from a glass. Lissome sounds a little like "lift some," and it's an adjective for thin and flexible people, like a lissome ballerina with a gracefully arched back. Light, lean, liquid in movement — lissome.

Example Sentences

Lissome and alluring in her prime — she had been a Miss America finalist at 20 — Ms. Leachman often played down or even grotesquely obscured her looks on-screen.

From Washington Post • Jan. 27, 2021

Now they assumed baroque form: Spy Elf of the Morning Hallelujahs, Parakeet of the Lissome Star.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2015

Lissome Elisabeth got her picture in the tabloids, received at least one offer of adoption, 50, proposals and a free English course from the Linguaphone Institute of America.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lissome, leggy, striking, Joan, 36, ought to be a visible asset to any campaign.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lissome lilies swayed gently in the hot breeze and made blotches on the earth like spilled wine.

From Seeds of Pine by Canuck, Janey