pendulous
Americanadjective
-
hanging down loosely.
pendulous blossoms.
- Synonyms:
- pendent
-
swinging freely; oscillating.
-
vacillating or undecided; wavering.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pendulous
First recorded in 1595–1605, pendulous is from the Latin word pendulus hanging, swinging. See pend, -ulous
Explanation
Walking a path with pendulous trees, the kind with hanging branches, is easier if you're five rather than seven feet tall. Pendulous most commonly refers to branches of trees or bushes, or other plant matter like flowers or leaves that droop or bend downward. You could hide easily in the Amazon rain forest because of all the pendulous plant life. When not referring to plants, pendulous means "saggy" or "droopy."
Vocabulary lists containing pendulous
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The accompanying photo showed 747 wading on the last day of August, with just a couple of inches of clearance between his pendulous abdomen and the water.
From Washington Post • Oct. 9, 2018
Draped in elaborate spangles, her body is uncorsetted, pendulous and haggard.
From The Guardian • Aug. 17, 2018
If you won’t consider a slightly shorter tie or a slightly chunkier knot, adding a vest to the mix would go a long way to at least keep that pendulous cravat under wraps.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2016
For girls, a result may be remarkably early onset of puberty; obese boys may lag in typical male development, developing not only pendulous breasts of fat, but actual breast tissue.
From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2014
Sweating in the equatorial sun, some of the researchers admiringly fingered the plump, pendulous green fruit, each the size of a baby’s head, wrapped in clusters around the trees’ sturdy trunks.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
