lithe

lithe

adjective

Definition of LITHE

1

able to bend easily without breaking <the lithe blade of a fencing foil>

Synonyms bendy [chiefly British], flexible, limber, lissome (also lissom), lithe, lithesome, pliable, pliant, supple

Related Words adaptable, ductile, elastic, fluid, kneadable, malleable, modifiable, plastic, variable, yielding; droopy, flaccid, floppy, limp; semiflexible

Near Antonyms inelastic, nonmalleable, unyielding; breakable, brittle, fragile

Antonyms inflexible, rigid, stiff, stiffened

2

moving easily <lithe dancers glided across the stage>

Synonyms agile, featly, feline, gracile, light, light-footed (also light-foot), lightsome, lissome (also lissom), lithe, lithesome, nimble, spry

Related Words acrobatic, flexible, limber, loose-jointed, pliable, pliant, supple; adroit, deft, dexterous (also dextrous), light-fingered; fleet-footed, sure-footed; athletic, balletic, coordinated

Near Antonyms uncoordinated; inflexible, rigid, stiff; bungling, inept, maladroit

Antonyms awkward, clumsy, gawky, graceless, klutzy, lumbering, ungainly, ungraceful

3

having a noticeably small amount of body fat <she has the lithe, sinewy body of a distance runner>

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

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

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