svelte
Americanadjective
-
slender, especially gracefully slender in figure; lithe.
-
suave; blandly urbane.
adjective
-
attractively or gracefully slim; slender
-
urbane or sophisticated
Etymology
Origin of svelte
1810–20; < French < Italian svelto < Vulgar Latin *exvellitus pulled out (replacing Latin ēvulsus, past participle of ēvellere ), equivalent to Latin ex- ex- 1 + velli-, variant stem of vellere to pull, pluck + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
Svelte means slender. It's used to describe people, not things, and it implies a certain elegance. You might say that a middle-aged woman who had kept a svelte figure could still pass for a sixteen-year-old girl. Svelte came to English from the French, back in the 19th century when the French had the last word on fashion, which probably accounts for its associations with elegance. It has nothing to do with the word sweltering, which means hot enough to make you sweat.
Vocabulary lists containing svelte
15 Synonyms for "Thin": An Eileen Ford (1922-2014) Tribute List
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Beauty Queens
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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.
Ads from American Express, which unveiled its Platinum card in 1984, featured Carol Channing in long gloves holding a diamond and “Don’t leave home without it” printed in a svelte serif.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025
Why do some dog breeds struggle to stay svelte?
From Science Magazine • Mar. 8, 2024
Experts have unearthed numerous fossils of the svelte tyrannosaur, including some relatively complete skeletons, with the adults reaching more than 26 feet in length and weighing more than two tons in life.
From National Geographic • Dec. 8, 2023
Shining after the rain, bright-green fronds still ponytailed from transit, the trees looked a bit like svelte, spray-tanned troll dolls.
From Slate • Sep. 5, 2023
The other lady of the ensemble, a svelte twilight soubrette, objects to my having, so to speak, photographed her in her old housecoat.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
