English Explanatory Dictionary

slender

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Thin; slim.
  2. Meagre; deficient.
  3. Palatalized.
verb
  1. To attenuate.
noun
  1. A simple country gentleman.

Pronunciation

/ˈslɛndə/ slĕnʹdər /ˈslɛndɚ/ en-us-slender.ogg

Word forms

slender slenderer more slender slenderest most slender slenders slendering slendered

Etymology

From Middle English slendre, sclendre, from Old French esclendre (“thin, slender”), from Middle Dutch slinder (“thin, lank”), from Proto-Germanic *slindraz (“sliding, slippery”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleydʰ- (“to slip”). Cognate with Bavarian Schlenderling (“that which dangles”), German schlendern (“to saunter, stroll”), Dutch slidderen, slinderen (“to wriggle, creep like a serpent”), Low German slindern (“to slide on ice”). More at slide, slither.

Synonyms

svelte willowy scarce sparse gaunt gracile lank lean leansome lithesome lissome rangy sleek slender slight slim slinky swack sylphlike lithe insufficient

Antonyms

broad heavy large obese overweight strapping

Related words

cadaverous scrawny thin person

Derived words

red slender loris slender-billed curlew slender-billed greenfinch slender-billed gull slender-bodied slender cypress pine slender-horned gazelle slenderish slenderization slenderize slender loris slenderly Slender Man slender moa slenderness slender poison slender reed slender seahorse slender sea lettuce slender sedge slender shrew slender skimmer slender suckerfish Slender West Lake unslender
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