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

It mixes images of parquet floors; spindly, naked trees; and Sol LeWitt-style stripes in a geometric composition that juxtaposes inside and out, black and white, relaxation and activity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

In a carefully locked laboratory rows of metal kegs are arranged on shelves and linked together with spindly copper pipework.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

At nearly 650,000 acres, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is known for its sprawling solitude: miles of lunar rock faces and sandy washes frame spindly Ocotillo stands, wildflower superblooms and designated dark skies.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 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

At that moment Lee came from the shed leading the Bacons’ horse hitched to the high spindly rig with rubber tires.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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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