as in gaunt
being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed
spindly, underfed dogs roamed the poverty-stricken village
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Recent Examples of spindly
These are the ports, pipelines, and oil refineries of Shandong province and its borderlands, where the hulking architecture of oil storage tanks and spindly profiles of smokestacks jut up from barren, coastal flatlands.
—
Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 12 May 2026
Starting amid towering saguaros and spindly ocotillos, and ending in a thriving aspen forest, these 27 miles connect scenic overlooks, a number of federally run public lands, a serene little mountain town, and much more.
—Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2026
Our evidence rests in the eight spindly tomato plants poking up from small containers next to a large window in our back room.
—Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Putting full-sun plants in shade leads to spindly, weak growth and few flowers.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 12 May 2026
Starting amid towering saguaros and spindly ocotillos, and ending in a thriving aspen forest, these 27 miles connect scenic overlooks, a number of federally run public lands, a serene little mountain town, and much more.
—Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2026
Our evidence rests in the eight spindly tomato plants poking up from small containers next to a large window in our back room.
—Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Putting full-sun plants in shade leads to spindly, weak growth and few flowers.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spindly
Adjective
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Gilbert, now imprisoned at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, appeared gaunt and withdrawn during the interview, at times mumbling short responses before abruptly cutting the conversation short.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
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When supermodels ruled the runway, low-rise pants hugged our hips, everyone smoked cigarettes, grunge was a music genre and an aesthetic, and looking scrawny and gaunt was considered attractive.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But his own journey was not easy; at eight, he was rejected by the Croatian club Hajduk Split for being too skinny and too short.—
Sanat Pai Raikar,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 June 2026
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This wide-leg style has a high-rise, straight-leg fit, perfect for complementing a skinny belt and a polished top, such as a collared shirt or a silk shirt.—
Irene Richardson,
InStyle,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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Their first statement signing to launch the project was the €42m purchase of the lanky and languorous Argentine playmaker.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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The Bruins’ lanky center fielder, who was suspended for Friday’s game, came home when Call – a platoon second baseman to begin the year who started in center field on Friday – lined his second hit of the game to left.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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Said was clean-shaven, with close-cropped, graying hair and thin, rectangular glasses.—
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
-
Expect body hair to thin, disappear, Alpinize.—
Sandra Cisneros,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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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But a new study published recently in Ecology and Evolution has compiled observations showing that the gangly arachnids (also called harvestmen) have an appetite for flesh—or at least for frog legs.—
Jake Buehler,
Scientific American,
21 May 2026
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In the first half, Jokic was minus-22 when the gangly center was on the court, continuing an alarming trend in the series.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Then came last year’s The Most Dear and The Future, a slender collection of tracks that straddled a line between pop, ambient, folk, and dance with an air of rustic mysticism that seemed to travel through music circles like gossip bursting from localized containment.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
2 June 2026
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Within a year of his Vitali Daraselia Cup breakthrough, the slender winger made his Dinamo debut.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spindly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spindly. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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