flabby

adjective

flab·​by ˈfla-bē How to pronounce flabby (audio)
flabbier; flabbiest
1
: lacking resilience or firmness : flaccid
2
: weak and ineffective : feeble
flabbily adverb
flabbiness noun

Examples of flabby in a Sentence

his daughter playfully poked at his flabby belly
Recent Examples on the Web The authentic Christmas dinner had consisted of dry turkey, lumpy mashed potatoes, and flabby spears of asparagus. Allaire Nuss, EW.com, 30 Aug. 2023 Yet despite all the combat and chase scenes, the pace sometimes drags; episodes that feel flabby at 45 minutes might’ve been more captivating at a half hour. TIME, 1 Feb. 2024 These flabby strips of breast are juicy and taste like the chicken on a mid-tier restaurant’s Caesar salad. Alex Beggs, Bon Appétit, 30 Aug. 2023 But how could little Alexandra be entrusted to this flabby, slovenly, psychologically troubled woman? Lyudmila Ulitskaya, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023 The flabby, violent, ineffective police state that advances nightly through plumes of tear gas is the dreary and inevitable outcome of the unspoken and unexamined political consensus. David Roth, The New Republic, 11 June 2020 But that flabby and inert expression is not just a stylistic problem. David Roth, The New Republic, 24 Mar. 2020 In that sense, this Netflix presentation falls victim to what's increasingly an issue with entries within the true-crime genre: Finding a gripping story, then telling it in a disjointed, flabby way. Brian Lowry, CNN, 26 Feb. 2020 For the even slightly flabby, a leather shirt accentuates imperfections. Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 29 Jan. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flabby.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of flappy

First Known Use

1694, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flabby was in 1694

Dictionary Entries Near flabby

Cite this Entry

“Flabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flabby. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

flabby

adjective
flab·​by ˈflab-ē How to pronounce flabby (audio)
flabbier; flabbiest
: not hard and firm : soft
flabbily adverb
flabbiness noun

Medical Definition

flabby

adjective
flab·​by ˈflab-ē How to pronounce flabby (audio)
flabbier; flabbiest
: lacking resilience or firmness : flaccid
flabbiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on flabby

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