svelte

svelte

adjective \ˈsvelt, ˈsfelt\

svelt·ersvelt·est

Definition of SVELTE

1

a : slender, lithe

b : having clean lines : sleek

2

: urbane, suave

— svelte·ly adverb

— svelte·ness noun

Examples of SVELTE

1. She has a svelte figure.
2. <the svelte dancer seemed to float across the stage>

Origin of SVELTE

French, from Italian svelto, from past participle of svellere to pluck out, modification of Latin evellere, from e- + vellere to pluck — more at vulnerable

First Known Use: circa 1817

Related to SVELTE

Synonyms

bony (also boney), fatless, lean, lithe, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin

Antonyms

chubby, corpulent, fat, gross, obese, overweight, plump, portly, rotund, tubby

Related Words

clean-limbed, trim; sylphlike, willowy; angular, rawboned, scraggy, scrawny, sinewy, wiry; lank, lanky, rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, twiggy, waspish, weedy; anorectic (also anoretic), anorexic, cadaverous, emaciated, gaunt, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted, wizened; meager (or meagre), puny, slight

Near Antonyms

beefy, bulky, chunky, fleshy, heavy, heavyset, stocky, stout, thick, thickset, weighty; brawny, burly, husky; dumpy, pudgy, roly-poly, squat, stubby; paunchy, potbellied; flabby, soft; buxom, zaftig (also zoftig); fleshed-out, full, hippy, round

Rhymes with SVELTE

belt, celt, Celt, delt, felt, gelt, melt, pelt, smelt, spelt, veld, welt