slender
Americanadjective
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having a circumference that is small in proportion to the height or length.
a slender post.
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thin or slight; light and graceful.
slender youths.
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small in size, amount, extent, etc.; meager.
a slender income.
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having little value, force, or justification.
slender prospects.
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thin or weak, as sound.
adjective
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of small width relative to length or height
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(esp of a person's figure) slim and well-formed
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small or inadequate in amount, size, etc
slender resources
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(of hopes, etc) having little foundation; feeble
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very small
a slender margin
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(of a sound) lacking volume
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phonetics (now only in Irish phonology) relating to or denoting a close front vowel, such as i or e
Related Words
Slender, slight, slim imply a tendency toward thinness. As applied to the human body, slender implies a generally attractive and pleasing thinness: slender hands. Slight often adds the idea of frailness to that of thinness: a slight, almost fragile, figure. Slim implies a lithe or delicate thinness: a slim and athletic figure.
Other Word Forms
- slenderly adverb
- slenderness noun
- unslender adjective
Etymology
Origin of slender
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English slendre, sclendre; origin unknown
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.
With long, slender legs and a lightweight frame, it likely moved quickly through vegetation, hunting small reptiles, amphibians, and early mammals.
From Science Daily
My sister Betsie, though seven years older than I, still had that slender grace that made people turn and look after her in the street.
From Literature
Already it had something of the beauty of a full-grown wolf: the slender pale.grey muzzle; large silver ears with their edging of black; elegant, dark-rimmed eyes.
From Literature
My hands curled around the slender wood of the chair’s backrest.
From Literature
When I turn toward the sound, Rose—a slender, mousy girl who has heretofore been mostly silent—is still poised with her hand in the air, fingers now emptied of cutlery.
From Literature
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.
