as in spindly
being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed
a sickly, spindling child who spent most of his time indoors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spindling
Adjective
-
Most city kids were smooth-skinned, pale, and spindly, although Xi stands out in photographs as unusually robust, ruddy-cheeked, and well-fed.—
Michael Sheridan,
Vanity Fair,
8 Apr. 2026 -
Despite being a spindly 180 pounds, he has not been worn down by the rigors of the Big 10 or the NCAA tournament, having scored in double figures in every game since the calendar turned to 2026.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cadets in the video described stabbing him with their pocketknives during a desperate struggle for the gun.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC news,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Officers learned that an altercation ended with two men allegedly assaulting another man with a baseball bat and then stabbing him in the head.—
Patrick Damp,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Scapes grow out of the top of each garlic bulb, then coil into long, skinny, green stems that look somewhat like tender, twirly green beans or green onions.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Hadid kept her accessories monochromatic and simple, partially obscuring her face with a pair of oversized dark brown sunglasses and adding a brown leather skinny belt around her hips.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For a piece in this week’s issue, Dhruv Khullar, a practicing physician and a contributing writer, investigated this growing industry, speaking to the doctors who are tinkering with compounds and the users gamely jabbing themselves in a quest for self-optimization.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Where their debut roars, jabbing with hooks, Two Wheels Move the Soul instead inverts the noise until the sound becomes pillowy and comforting.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The words feel heavy and unnatural when O'Neal repeats them back to the doctor, like trying to blow a bubble and spitting out rocks instead.—
Courtney Crowder,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Anna Frenza wakes up suddenly, suffocating from smoke and spitting ash.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In the courtroom, Alfortish’s face looked gaunt after spending roughly a year in prison, and his hair, thinning now, had gone white.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
We’re introduced to its uncanny backdrop through the eyes of protagonist Heinrich, or Hein (Paul Boche), a gaunt young man who returns by boat after 14 years away.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Stevenson, who was on probation and is not legally allowed to own a firearm, is accused of killing his victim after impaling him with an arrow, according to the RPD.—
Chris Spargo,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
However, as snake plants get older, their long, slender leaves may start to become lanky and floppy or turn yellow and eventually fall over.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Jeff Goldblum is perfect as the lanky mad scientist doing nude experiments in his warehouse lab, and his wide-eyed transformation into the horny, sugar-hungry man-fly underlines the weird anxieties that Cronenberg always brings to body horror.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Spindling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spindling. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
