wispy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of wispy
Explanation
Wispy describes something that's vague or flimsy. If your explanation of why you didn't help your mom paint the kitchen was weak and didn't help her understand your reasons, you'd call that a wispy explanation. Wispy can be used more literally to describe things that are physically not very substantial, like the delicate necklace that breaks as soon as you wear it. A person who looks weak and thin could also be described as wispy. A wisp is something flimsy, but in its original meaning, it was a handful of hay or grass — again, something very light.
Vocabulary lists containing wispy
The Lightning Thief
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List 7
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Refugee
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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.
A few weeks later, a wispy tendril starts out, climbing up the wooden support.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
Liu was older, 7 inches taller, with bleached hair and piercings, practically unrecognizable from the wispy child she’d been at U.S. nationals in 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
"You can't sculpt and cast something that is..." he paused, trying to find the right word, "wispy."
From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026
The latter came with a star cameo from two of the show's young stars, Emma Myers and Evie Templeton, who pirouetted around Gaga and her dancers in wispy bridal gowns.
From BBC • Sep. 30, 2025
Hila’s voice had changed, no longer wispy and sweet.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
