as in gaunt
being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed
a gangly teenager who was born to play varsity basketball
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gangly
But a local coach nicknamed Taha noticed a gangly, tall-for-his-age 7-year-old and invited him to play for the AAU program Banneker Kings.
—
Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2025
Some people hate nandina, but that’s the old varieties that get humongous and gangly.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 30 May 2025
Light pruning results in a gangly, unkempt plant by midsummer.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2025
The character started as a gangly teenager and has matured into a wise warrior.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 12 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gangly
Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2025
Some people hate nandina, but that’s the old varieties that get humongous and gangly.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 30 May 2025
Light pruning results in a gangly, unkempt plant by midsummer.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2025
The character started as a gangly teenager and has matured into a wise warrior.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 12 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gangly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangly
Adjective
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And in a third, the gaunt 30-year-old killer flexes, purses his lips and squints.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The apparently recent footage showed two hostages -- Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel -- looking gaunt and exhausted while being driven around Gaza City.—
WAFAA SHURAFA,
Arkansas Online,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The lanky midfielder impacted the game by always being in the right place, rarely making mistakes, keeping the game simple with neat, tidy ball recoveries and pinpoint passes through spaces others rarely saw.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
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The lanky, smooth-skating center has also worked out in previous offseasons with Nathan MacKinnon, another vital member of Colorado’s leadership group who wholeheartedly endorsed Nelson’s arrival and the idea of keeping him.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But does Hegseth want the best generals, or just the best skinny ones?—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
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Guayabero River knifefish have skinny, elongated bodies reaching just over 7 inches in length, the study said.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The setting’s gravity is also reflected in the music: Bates includes haunting strings, spindly mandolin, and gritty analog synthesizers, along with Wagnerian tubas, a nod to Adolf Hitler’s composer of choice.—
Jane Bua,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
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Evolution has adapted the digits of mammals for an enormous range of uses, from our opposable thumbs to the spindly digits that support bat wings to the robust bones that support the hoofs of horses.—
John Timmer,
ArsTechnica,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The rest of the core comprises Satou Sabally, a three-time All-Star forward with 3-point range, and Kahleah Copper, a rangy wing and four-time All-Star who won the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP with the Chicago Sky.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Within moments, the rangy 29-year-old actor Harris Dickinson bounds down an exterior staircase and shakes my hand.—
Liam Hess,
Vogue,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The water pressure then causes the vehicle to rise and slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, making the driver lose control.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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Batteries without the filter lost power quickly, while batteries with the atom-thin filter retained almost all their capacity for more than 150 charge-discharge cycles.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Lift your hips off the ground and place a block underneath your sacrum, the widest, boniest part of your pelvis.—
Cory Martin,
Verywell Health,
16 Oct. 2024
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Differences in Adult Bones That being said, some adults are bonier than others.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
3 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Gangly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangly. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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