slinky

adjective

ˈsliŋ-kē 

slinkier; slinkiest

1

: characterized by slinking : stealthily quiet

slinky movements

2

: sleek and sinuous in movement or outline

especially : following the lines of the figure in a gracefully flowing manner

a slinky evening gown

slinkily

ˈsliŋ-kə-lē 

adverb

slinkiness

ˈsliŋ-kē-nəs 

noun

Examples of slinky in a Sentence

The dancers wore slinky costumes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Pugh landed on a slinky sheer dress from Collina Strada’s fall 2026 collection—a diaphanous black dress with a multi-colored floral print. — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026

For that occasion, Zoë paired a slinky scarlet gown with a matching belt and pumps, wearing her dark hair in a sleek bun. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026

Jeon Do-yeon, who plays the family’s matriarch, is colorfully slinky as a globe-trotting party widow, a vain, compulsively seductive narcissist who macks on her daughters’ men like a Real Housewife given a villain’s edit. — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2026

All of those attributes combine to create a rare profile of striker, as shown by his pizza chart below — dominant in the air and with his back to goal, but also slinky and inventive with the ball at his feet. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for slinky

• dinky
• inky
• kinky
• pinkie
• pinky
• stinky

Kids Definition

slinky

adjective

ˈsliŋ-kē 

slinkier; slinkiest

1

: sneakily quiet

slinky movements

2

: following the lines of the figure in a gracefully flowing manner

slinky dresses