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Lissome (sometimes spelled lissom) is a gently altered form of its synonym, lithesome. While lissome tends to be the more popular choice these days, the two words have similar pasts. They both appeared in the 18th century, and they both trace back to the much older lithe, which first appeared in English during the 14th century and comes from an Old English word meaning "gentle." Lissome can also be an adverb meaning "in a supple or nimble manner," but this use is rare.
Examples of lissome in a Sentence
the lissome actress's dance training is apparent in the way she moves on stage
rattan is such a lissome material that it can be used for all manner of furniture and baskets
Recent Examples on the Web
The lissome little murder mystery retails for $15 and totals 100 pages.
—
Hannah Natanson, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Dec. 2022
Jack collected lissome locks of women’s pubic hair.
—Claire Messud, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2021
The 5000 has one of the most lissome combinations of ride and handling of any car on the road; the 4000, however, is less smooth and less graceful.
—Steve Smith, Car and Driver, 14 Aug. 2020
Coming on the heels of a few years of public disintegration, he’d been humbled, or wished to appear that way: a handed-the-world boy forced to disavow the person fame had turned him into, singing lissome songs of apology.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2020
One of my more luminous memories of that odd year, 1974, was a dance performed in Central Park in New York by three long and lissome non-pregnant maidens in white gauze gym suits.
—Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 June 2018
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Hannah Natanson, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Dec. 2022
Jack collected lissome locks of women’s pubic hair.
—Claire Messud, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2021
The 5000 has one of the most lissome combinations of ride and handling of any car on the road; the 4000, however, is less smooth and less graceful.
—Steve Smith, Car and Driver, 14 Aug. 2020
Coming on the heels of a few years of public disintegration, he’d been humbled, or wished to appear that way: a handed-the-world boy forced to disavow the person fame had turned him into, singing lissome songs of apology.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2020
One of my more luminous memories of that odd year, 1974, was a dance performed in Central Park in New York by three long and lissome non-pregnant maidens in white gauze gym suits.
—Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Lissome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lissome. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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