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

Example Sentences

Anyhow, there he was, standing on his spindly legs, staring at those big red apples.

From Literature

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

In her hands was a sickle moon, and behind her was an outcrop of spindly red trees with branches that looked like crooked fingers.

From Literature

The trees through the window were spindly and bare, and a thin layer of snow whitened the landscape as far as my eye could see.

From Literature

The shiny black marble floor was pristine and looked freshly mopped, the spindly silver tables and chairs along the wall neatly lined up.

From Literature

Related Words

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