1
as in gauzy
being of a material lacking in sturdiness or substance
fairies are usually depicted as wearing gossamer or tattered clothing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fluffy
resembling air in lightness
the gossamer veil seemed to float about the bride as she walked down the aisle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sheer
very thin and easy to see through
didn't see the gossamer spider webs until the sun hit them just right
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in froth
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gossamer
Drew Zieff, Outside Online, 27 June 2025
Skinner toes a gossamer line of attempting to understand the root of Roger’s pain, but stops short of rubber-stamping his bigotry and entitlement.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, 11 Dec. 2019
But his most impressive skill is the ancient art of gilding, using gossamer sheets of gold leaf just .12 microns thick to add a brilliant metallic effect to lettering.
—Jeff Csatari, Popular Mechanics, 9 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for gossamer
Adjective
Thanks to featherweight nylon ripstop, gossamer polyester mesh, and minimalistic DAC poles, the Tiger Wall 2 Platinum clocks in with a sub-two-pound minimum trail weight.
—Drew Zieff, Outside Online, 27 June 2025
Skinner toes a gossamer line of attempting to understand the root of Roger’s pain, but stops short of rubber-stamping his bigotry and entitlement.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Noun
Both would be coated with a gossamer-thin layer of gold for reflectivity and bathed in faint laser beams to detect their oscillations—and thus their temperature.
—Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, 11 Dec. 2019
But his most impressive skill is the ancient art of gilding, using gossamer sheets of gold leaf just .12 microns thick to add a brilliant metallic effect to lettering.
—Jeff Csatari, Popular Mechanics, 9 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for gossamer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gossamer
Adjective
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The smocked bodice hugs just right without feeling tight, and the gauzy cotton moves beautifully—light and breathable enough for even the stickiest summer days.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Sep. 2025
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The post was accompanied by a new video for the song, in which Cyrus wears a gauzy white headdress and matching diaphanous, flowing gown, as well as a black dress matched with a sparkling black mask.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Buyers praise the fluffy exterior material, charming style, and ease of cleaning.—
Christine Persaud,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
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The single-button power control is a favorite feature of our reviewer Williams, as well as the fluffy optic cleaner head that cleans and polishes her hard floors.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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To watch Lipe-Smith’s Caroline cuddle in bed watching TV on her iPad, or bopping around to JoJo Siwa, or pensively finishing a Popsicle while sitting beside her grandmother at a museum, is to have the sheer malevolence of our current administration and its adherents thrown into sharp relief.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
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The sheer paucity of Russian resources, after three and a half years of war, may lead to a similarly ineffective response to any use of Tomahawks.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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All that money and complexity in the system means an industry of consultants, syndicators, lawyers, planners, accountants, and contractors who all are for-profit actors, making money from the froth of all the cash moving through the system.—
Roger Valdez,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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There’s a lot of froth in the market right now, but the bigger story is just beginning.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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After McGregor died in 2013, his family inherited the two-story house on Coastguard Walk and Airbnb-ed it, replacing the period furniture with flimsier stuff from Amazon.—
Wendy Goodman,
Curbed,
23 Sep. 2025
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Now at 0-2 at Gillette Stadium this season, the Patriots are a flimsy 3-16 at home since the start of the 2023 season.—
Tim Crowley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Plus, pioneering inserts like the Nemo window, a transparent area below the waterline where guests can watch marine life flicker past the hull.—
Tristan Rutherford,
Robb Report,
26 Sep. 2025
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As part of the agreement, Amazon will make its subscription and cancellation processes more transparent.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Milkweeds have light fluff that expands, acting as a parasail, and catches a gust of wind.—
Markis Hill,
Kansas City Star,
26 Sep. 2025
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There was also plenty of fluff, not really containing enough nutritional value to be called word salad.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Republican lawmakers and state attorneys general have challenged the basis of those recommendations, arguing that the evidence used to support them is insubstantial.—
Selena Simmons-Duffin,
NPR,
1 Aug. 2025
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Vague green claims won’t cut it anymore, as evidenced by a 2020 study from the European Commission, which found over half of environmental claims were insubstantial, misleading or unfounded.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gossamer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gossamer. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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