scrannel
Americanadjective
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thin or slight.
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squeaky or unmelodious.
adjective
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thin
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harsh
Etymology
Origin of scrannel
First recorded in 1630–40; origin uncertain
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.
That no orchestra lurks behind the backdrop is clearly demonstrated when Mr. Stokowski raises his baton and the scrannel strains of the violin and cello tremble, quite unsupported, in the hostile air.
From Time Magazine Archive
From a scintillation of colored lights upon the horizon he could hear the scrannel sounds of the railway come thinly along the night air.
From Sinister Street, vol. 2 by MacKenzie, Compton
The north-easter flashed in the white cataracts of his eyes and woke a feeble activity in his scrannel limbs.
From At a Winter's Fire by Capes, Bernard Edward Joseph
The shell they struck gave a more melodious sound than the rough and scrannel pipe cut from the northern forests.
From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Disraeli, Isaac
Thereupon arose, on all sides, the most terrific uproar of laughter, from voices like those of children in volume, but scrannel and harsh as those of decrepit age, though, unfortunately, without its weakness.
From Phantastes, a Faerie Romance for Men and Women by MacDonald, George
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.
