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.
Normally, bacteria move using flagella, slender, whip-like structures that spin to push the cells forward.
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
“I’m sorry about my ugly appearance,” a preteen Kaley said in a YouTube video played in court Thursday morning, urgently repeating, “I look so fat,” while panning the camera over her slender torso.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
But Memphis edged the second quarter 25-23 and then poured in 36 points in the third quarter to take a slender 82-81 lead into the final frame.
From Barron's • Jan. 7, 2026
"I looked at my flat, slender belly in the mirror like a dear friend upon whom I was about to close a coffin lid," she later recalled.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025
“Get out of here!” he said, poking me slightly with his long, slender fingers.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
