spindly

American  

[spind-lee] / ˈspɪnd li /

adjective

spindlier, spindliest

1. long or tall, thin, and usually frail.

   The colt wobbled on its spindly legs.

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spindly British  

/ ˈspɪndlɪ /

adjective

1. tall, slender, and frail; attenuated

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Etymology

Origin of spindly

First recorded in 1645–55; spindle + -y ¹

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Explanation

Use the adjective spindly for people or objects that are thin and lanky. A newborn foal looks so vulnerable, with its spindly legs, but it's almost immediately able to stand up and walk. A spindle is a slim wooden rod used to spin wool, and spindly essentially means "like a spindle." You can use it to describe a skinny person's long, thin limbs, like a young ballerina's spindly arms or the spindly legs of an elementary school basketball team. Spindly objects tend to be fragile, too: "These spindly antique chairs make me nervous — I'll sit on the couch."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spindly spindlier spindliest

First spotted bounding across streets in Washington, the Seattle raccoon with an unusual, spindly shape and the scamper of a Tasmanian Devil has been seized on by the internet as a new hit meme.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

And it wasn’t lost on Rove that the spindly, excitable man narrating that story for them in a thick Hungarian accent “was once a 16-year-old picking up paving blocks and heaving them at Soviet tanks.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

She and Sara Barhoum, who’s now a freshman at Oregon, started working out together during free time between online classes, doing what she could to add strength to her spindly frame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025

It’s a verdant thicket of spindly branches that towers over a straw-hatted man in the shadow below, no doubt seeking respite from the heat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025

They give a curt nod, and the sheriff turns his horse around and starts off toward the edge of town, the thing walking pretty fast with its long, spindly legs.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

The species Dictyota dichotoma becomes a bundle of thick, tangled rhizomes, while Furcellaria fastigiata comprises spindlier, daintier strands that look like nerve endings.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2018

"I wouldn't kiss him to save his life," declared Frances; "he's got the spindliest legs I ever saw."

From Miss Minerva and William Green Hill by Frances Boyd Calhoun

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Related Words

• elongated
• frail
• lanky
• rangy
• skinny
• slender

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