as in gaunt
being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed
spindly, underfed dogs roamed the poverty-stricken village
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spindly
The spindly youngster is at the beginning of a journey that will successively turn him into one of the most promising, one of the most unfortunate, one of the most maddening and ultimately one of the most celebrated football players in the world.
—
Tom Williams, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Gone were the spindly metal chairs and wobbly tables just unwelcoming enough to discourage lingering.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 13 May 2025
The spindly 6-0, 170-pounder made big strides each season after that.
—Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 20 May 2025
Keep in mind, in the world of asparagus, thin and spindly is not always better than thick and chunky.
—Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Tom Williams, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Gone were the spindly metal chairs and wobbly tables just unwelcoming enough to discourage lingering.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 13 May 2025
The spindly 6-0, 170-pounder made big strides each season after that.
—Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 20 May 2025
Keep in mind, in the world of asparagus, thin and spindly is not always better than thick and chunky.
—Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spindly
Adjective
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Recent photos of Bieber out and about show him looking gaunt and disappearing into his clothes.—
Shirley Halperin,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2025
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While Kahn was on the GLP-1 bandwagon earlier than most, her story has become the norm for those using weight loss drugs, finding their skin is looser and their face is more gaunt, creating a wealth of opportunity across the beauty ecosphere.—
Emily Burns,
Footwear News,
7 May 2025
Adjective
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Trying to shove your lower leg into something like skinny jeans or a condom could end up cutting off blood flow, which clearly would not be good for your calf.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
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Each wave of skinny fixation has echoed like a cultural recoil — a shrinking aesthetic that emerges just as women expand their influence Advertisement But something is shifting.—
Anne Marie Chaker,
Time,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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And there are other possibilities, especially at the center position, like Soo Greyhound Brady Martin, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ lanky pivot Roger McQueen, Moncton’s Caleb Desnoyer and even Boston College’s James Hagens, who was projected to go first overall at the start of the season.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
6 June 2025
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Repeatability isn’t always the easiest thing for tall pitchers, but Lagrange seems to be maximizing his lanky frame thus far.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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Though no longer lofty, at close range these mountains are still impressive and assertive, rising in sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high above the beating surf, bare rock capped by a thin layer of soil and long grassy turf, spilling dozens of small cascades over and down narrow ravines into the sea.—
Robert Finch
June 18,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2025
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Still, scientists have long struggled to account for where all of it is located since a large chunk of ordinary matter is spread so thin among galaxies and the vast spaces between them.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
18 June 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
Adjective
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Some people hate nandina, but that’s the old varieties that get humongous and gangly.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
30 May 2025
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Piani did the right thing in casting Rutherford, whose physical embodiment of Agathe suggests a tall, gangly, striking woman trying not to be seen.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Consequently, the rollers became more and more narrow, until all that remained was a slender bar capped on both ends by large discs.—
Kai James,
The Conversation,
11 June 2025
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Taper: Taper candles are long, slender candles with a wider base and a narrow top.—
Maya Handelsman,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spindly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spindly. Accessed 26 Jun. 2025.
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