spindly
adjective
spin·dly
ˈspin(d)-lē 
ˈspin-dᵊl-ē
spindlier; spindliest
1
: of a disproportionately tall or long and thin appearance that often suggests physical weakness
spindly legs
2
: frail or flimsy in appearance or structure
a spindly tower
Examples of spindly in a Sentence
spindly, underfed dogs roamed the poverty-stricken village
Recent Examples on the Web
Some neighborhoods are completely empty, apart from the spindly wooden legs meant to elevate homes away from floodwaters — the houses are long gone, but the legs still stand.
—
Nidhi Sharma, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Staring back from a glass enclosure is a monstrous bronze beast: a scaly humanoid with terrible fangs and spindly crab’s legs for whiskers.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 21 Mar. 2024
About the length of a banana, olms have eel-like bodies and spindly legs.
—Elizabeth Anne Brown, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Saint Maud’s protagonist was a spindly, religious health aide who imagined her body elongating and stretching in gory, supernatural ways.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024
The sequel features some of the most effective scares of the entire series, as the aforementioned Valak lends itself to some truly terrifying sequences, and the spindly Crooked Man (Javier Botet) and unsettlingly mundane Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian) provide variety to the thrills.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2023
Even as the character gains in physical confidence and emotional stature, the swift and spindly Chalamet never fully sheds his boyish vulnerability.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024
Attendees in ball gowns with spindly heels and long trains had to navigate not only puddles and potholes, but also curious onlookers, tourists, and joggers who seemed to have absolutely no idea what was going on.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2024
Boston Dynamics Atlas' new spindly, double-jointed fingers are capable but a bit creepy.
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 6 Feb. 2024
Nidhi Sharma, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Staring back from a glass enclosure is a monstrous bronze beast: a scaly humanoid with terrible fangs and spindly crab’s legs for whiskers.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 21 Mar. 2024
About the length of a banana, olms have eel-like bodies and spindly legs.
—Elizabeth Anne Brown, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Saint Maud’s protagonist was a spindly, religious health aide who imagined her body elongating and stretching in gory, supernatural ways.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024
The sequel features some of the most effective scares of the entire series, as the aforementioned Valak lends itself to some truly terrifying sequences, and the spindly Crooked Man (Javier Botet) and unsettlingly mundane Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian) provide variety to the thrills.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2023
Even as the character gains in physical confidence and emotional stature, the swift and spindly Chalamet never fully sheds his boyish vulnerability.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024
Attendees in ball gowns with spindly heels and long trains had to navigate not only puddles and potholes, but also curious onlookers, tourists, and joggers who seemed to have absolutely no idea what was going on.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2024
Boston Dynamics Atlas' new spindly, double-jointed fingers are capable but a bit creepy.
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 6 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spindly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near spindly
Cite this Entry
“Spindly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spindly. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
spindly
adjective
spin·dly
ˈspin-(d)lē
-dᵊl-ē
spindlier; spindliest
: of a tall or long and thin appearance that often suggests physical weakness
spindly legs
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