as in gaunt
being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed
spindly, underfed dogs roamed the poverty-stricken village
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Recent Examples of spindly
Planting sun-loving plants in a shady site usually results in plants with spindly growth and few, if any, flowers.
—
Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
But the tall, spindly lander face-planted in a crater near the moon's south pole and was declared dead within hours.
—Arkansas Online, 6 June 2025
The exterior was refreshed with a new face and tail, to give it a more modern look than the spindly grille of the pre-facelift model.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 5 June 2025
Snaking through the salons of an old Paris mansion, the circuitous catwalk is marked with bundles of spindly wood branches and vibrant floral blooms, adornments that add an ethereal air to the silk-stocking grandeur.
—Courtney Crowder, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
But the tall, spindly lander face-planted in a crater near the moon's south pole and was declared dead within hours.
—Arkansas Online, 6 June 2025
The exterior was refreshed with a new face and tail, to give it a more modern look than the spindly grille of the pre-facelift model.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 5 June 2025
Snaking through the salons of an old Paris mansion, the circuitous catwalk is marked with bundles of spindly wood branches and vibrant floral blooms, adornments that add an ethereal air to the silk-stocking grandeur.
—Courtney Crowder, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spindly
Adjective
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In addition to a very gaunt appearance, other symptoms include: Extreme weakness Thin, dry skin with excess skin folds due to loss of fat Sparse, brittle hair that can be easily plucked out 8.—
Jonathan Purtell,
Verywell Health,
13 June 2025
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Recent photos of Bieber out and about show him looking gaunt and disappearing into his clothes.—
Shirley Halperin,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Nothing fires up Google’s algorithm quite like talk of the return of skinny jeans, but for fall/winter 2025 designers are conspiring to relaunch another dormant Noughties trend: slouchy boho boots that puddle around the ankles and fold over the calves.—
Emma Spedding,
Vogue,
24 July 2025
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Many have been quick to draw a connective throughline between the revival of trends like skinny jeans and bandage dress with the increasing accessibility of Ozempic and other GLP-1 injectables.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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At a lanky 6-foot-9, Essengue is more of a wing than a center.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
10 July 2025
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Another lanky and elastic player who played that aggressive form of defensive tennis.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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Cover it with a thin layer of topsoil or compost to cover the seeds.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
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The market is thin in run-producing bats, and O'Hearn not only fills that need but is versatile enough to play the corner outfield spots as well.—
Hunter Mulholland,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Lift your hips off the ground and place a block underneath your sacrum, the widest, boniest part of your pelvis.—
Cory Martin,
Verywell Health,
16 Oct. 2024
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Differences in Adult Bones That being said, some adults are bonier than others.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
3 Nov. 2023
Adjective
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And for the current Bulls front office, that prototype is crystal clear — gangly, teenage wings who offer the potential of versatile playmaking in a raw, unproven package.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
27 June 2025
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But a local coach nicknamed Taha noticed a gangly, tall-for-his-age 7-year-old and invited him to play for the AAU program Banneker Kings.—
Sam Cohn,
Baltimore Sun,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Anya Taylor-Joy, imperiously slender and with devouring eyes, has a porcelain haughtiness that doesn’t quite work as Emma Woodhouse — at least not for me.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
19 July 2025
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Those garments included curvaceous jackets with jodhpurs and slender gowns cut from both light-absorbing velvet and light reflecting satin. At Chanel, meanwhile, the dark hue was used for military suits in nubby tweeds.—
Ari Stark,
Footwear News,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spindly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spindly. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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