tinny

[tin-ee]

adjective

tinnier, tinniest 

1. of or like tin.

2. containing tin.

3. lacking in timbre or resonance; sounding thin or twangy.

   a tinny piano.

4. not strong or durable; flimsy; shoddy.

5. having the taste of tin.

tinny

/ ˈtɪnɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling tin

2. cheap, badly made, or shoddy

3. (of a sound) high, thin, and metallic

4. (of food or drink) flavoured with metal, as from a container

5. informal,  lucky

noun

1. slang,  a can of beer

2. Also: tinnie. informal,  a small fishing or pleasure boat with an aluminium hull

Other Word Forms

• tinnily adverb
• tinniness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tinny¹

First recorded in 1545–55; tin + -y ¹

Example Sentences

“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” was her tinny response, and that gaffe is entirely on the former vice president.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Then he makes this film that looks tinny, like bad TV.

Read more on Salon

Beeping horns from the busy street outside — some of them coming from sleek black Uber vehicles emblazoned with the Berlinale logo — blended with the street scenes from “Taxi Driver” playing on the tinny television speakers.

Read more on New York Times

This is most evident on the sleepy “Crusader,” an ostensible rebuttal to recent moral panic that lacks — in large part because of its tinny percussion — urgency and bite.

Read more on New York Times

In the composition I was most excited about, I badly misjudged an important combination of instruments: A passage meant to sound sleekly metallic was merely tinny.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• golden 
• silvery