spindly
Thin and wobbly
Spindly describes something long, thin, and fragile-looking—suggesting it might not support much weight.
Spindly legs on a chair or a person look disproportionately narrow.
A spindly plant has grown tall without filling out, often from reaching toward light.
The word carries a sense of inadequacy or weakness: a spindly sapling, his spindly arms.
Thin and graceful
- skinnyVery thin, underweight
- twiggyResembling small branches
- reedyThin and high-pitched
- wiryThin and muscular
scrawny · willowy · spidery · pencil-thin · threadlike · hairlike · fine · attenuated
Tall and ungainly thin
- ganglyAwkwardly tall and thin
- gawkyAwkwardly tall and clumsy
- awkwardLacking grace or ease
- ungainlyLacking ease of movement
leggy · rangy · beanpole · coltish · angular · lumbering · uncoordinated
Easily broken or damaged
- ricketyUnsteady, liable to collapse
- wobblyTending to teeter
- shakyTrembling or unstable
- flimsyWeak and easily damaged
delicate · insubstantial · unstable · precarious · tottering · unsteady · weak · breakable
Pulled to lengthen
- extendedLengthened in time or space
- attenuatedLessened in force
- drawn-outExtended beyond normal duration
- lengthenedIncreased in extent
stalky · long-necked · tapering · narrow
slender
Thin and graceful
wiry · scrawny · willowy · spidery · pencil-thin · threadlike · hairlike · fine · attenuated
lanky
Tall and ungainly thin
ungainly · leggy · rangy · beanpole · coltish · angular · lumbering · uncoordinated
fragile
Easily broken or damaged
flimsy · delicate · insubstantial · unstable · precarious · tottering · unsteady · weak · breakable · feeble
stretched
Pulled to lengthen
- extendedLengthened in time or space
- attenuatedLessened in force
- drawn-outExtended beyond normal duration
lengthened · stalky · long-necked · tapering · narrow
stunted
Arrested in development
- weedyOvergrown with unwanted plants
- undernourishedInsufficiently nourished
- scragglyIrregularly sparse and messy
withered · puny · etiolated · underfed · sickly · anemic · wan
- body typesectomorph, endomorph, mesomorph, somatotype, athletic build
- skinnythin, slim, slender, lean, skinny
- threadlikefilament, fiber, strand, threadlike, filamentous
- spindly legs
- sleep spindlesEEG bursts during light rest
- spindle poisonAgent disrupting fiber formation
- spindle attachment
spindle, spindling, spindles, spindled, spindliest, spindlier