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
At 12 seconds, Morse puts his skis over the mechanical wand, the spindly knee-level barrier which, when competitors push through, triggers the electronic timer.
—
Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Cut yourself a big bouquet and trim spindly, dead or crossing branches to encourage better blooms this spring.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
One is a spindly stick about 2 1/2 feet long that could have been used for digging in the mud.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
Focus on removing crossing, touching, weak, or misshapen branches that grow upwards or downwards into other layers, and remove twiggy, spindly growth down the trunk.
—Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Cut yourself a big bouquet and trim spindly, dead or crossing branches to encourage better blooms this spring.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
One is a spindly stick about 2 1/2 feet long that could have been used for digging in the mud.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
Focus on removing crossing, touching, weak, or misshapen branches that grow upwards or downwards into other layers, and remove twiggy, spindly growth down the trunk.
—Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spindly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spindly
Adjective
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Lie’s Evans is gaunt and distant, a shy man hidden behind a veil of cigarette smoke, unable to process — or even express — his grief.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
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Nitibhon, a Thai supermodel, plays her tycoon as comically drab, keeping her gaunt cheeks slack to emphasize her character’s hollowness.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Bears begin emerging from their winter dens, with adult males appearing first to look for food, often appearing skinny and hungry, according to DEEP.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
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Some huddled near skinny trees.—
Caitlin Dickerson,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The lanky, athletic Raiders (who have six players who are 6-foot-3 or taller) completely shut down Cherry Creek in the Great 8 by allowing only 12 first-half points.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
11 Mar. 2026
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Nansen, tall, lanky, and sporting neon Vuarnet shades, greets me with a firm handshake.—
Jen Murphy,
Robb Report,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But the size of the reserves means Zimbabwe’s foreign-exchange reserves would pay for only one and a half months’ worth of the country’s imports, a thin buffer compared with many peers that typically hold three months or more.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
9 Mar. 2026
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How to achieve blurred nails Once her prep is complete, Novakovic completes her blurred nails using two thin coats of Manucurist Active Blur.—
Dominic Cadogan,
Glamour,
9 Mar. 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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What to know about wood storks These gangly birds are sometimes called flintheads or ironheads because of their distinctive heads and necks.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
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War was coming, but for her father, Eberhard, then a gangly teenager, life in Hawaii was an endless summer.—
David Martin,
CBS News,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Field measurements reported in the study indicate the scorpion’s slender claws can close quickly enough to capture prey larger than its body.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Mar. 2026
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But field measurements reported in the study indicate the scorpion’s slender claws can close quickly enough to capture prey larger than its body.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spindly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spindly. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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