2
: graceful
3
: of, relating to, resembling, or being a relatively small slender australopithecine (genus Australopithecus) characterized especially by molars and incisors of similar size that are adapted to a diet including both plant matter and animal flesh compare robust sense 5
gracileness
noun
gra·cil·i·ty
graˈsilətē 
grəˈ-
plural -es
: gracefulness
the gracility and speed of winged beauty—
Clement Wood
Clement Wood
especially
: graceful slenderness or slightness
Examples of gracile in a Sentence
Adjective
gracile as any pair of classically trained dancers, the bride and groom made their way around the dance floor
Recent Examples on the Web
Reuters, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
Hawkins misplaced horns and spikes, and some of his robust four-legged dinosaurs were actually gracile bipeds.
—Yannic Rack, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
Elephant bones by comparison are gracile, slender—they’re like twigs compared to mastodons.
—Peter Brannen, The Atlantic, 22 June 2022
The bright colors and gracile X-braces of the Eames House are written all across the Pompidou Center.
—Thomas De Monchaux, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2022
Gracile skulls due to the Mongoloid’s very recent evolutionary development.
—Longreads, 1 Aug. 2017
More generally, humans as a whole have become more gracile over the last 10,000 years.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2012
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Adjective
Alvarezsaurs were predominantly small, with stubby but powerful forelimbs, long and gracile hindlimbs and lightly built skulls.
—Reuters, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
Hawkins misplaced horns and spikes, and some of his robust four-legged dinosaurs were actually gracile bipeds.
—Yannic Rack, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
Elephant bones by comparison are gracile, slender—they’re like twigs compared to mastodons.
—Peter Brannen, The Atlantic, 22 June 2022
The bright colors and gracile X-braces of the Eames House are written all across the Pompidou Center.
—Thomas De Monchaux, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2022
Gracile skulls due to the Mongoloid’s very recent evolutionary development.
—Longreads, 1 Aug. 2017
More generally, humans as a whole have become more gracile over the last 10,000 years.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2012
Cite this Entry
“Gracile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gracile. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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