Meaning & use
lank
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noundisapproving
Straight, limp, and hanging flat, usually because of being thin or greasy.
Grammar: Usually describes hair: lank hair.
Rain left her hair lank against her face.
He pushed a strand of lank hair out of his eyes.
The grass hung lank in the damp air.
adjectivecomparableliteraryold-fashioned
Tall and thin in an awkward way.
Grammar: Describes a person's build: a lank youth.
A lank figure stood in the doorway.
The lank farmhand stooped to enter the barn.
He was lank and pale, with long arms.
Word forms
| comparative | lanker |
|---|---|
| superlative | lankest |
Common combinations
- lank hair
- Days without washing left his hair lank.
- lank and greasy
- Her hair looked lank and greasy under the lights.
- lank strands
- Lank strands fell across his forehead.
- a lank figure
- A lank figure leaned on the fence.
- hang lank
- The flags hung lank in the still air.
Synonyms and how they differ
- limp
- Limp is broader and can describe any floppy thing, while lank is usually used for hair.
- lifeless
- Lifeless suggests dull and without shine, which overlaps with lank hair but also applies to other things.
- lanky
- Lanky is the usual word for a tall, thin, awkward person and is more common than lank in that sense.
- straggly
- Straggly implies messy, uneven strands, whereas lank stresses straight and flat.
Opposites
Word family
- lankiness noun
- the state of being tall and thin
- lanky adjective
- tall, thin, and awkward
- lankly adverb
- in a limp, flat way, rare
Commonly confused: lank or lanky?
lank vs lanky
Lanky describes a body that is tall and thin, whereas lank mostly describes hair that is flat and limp.
Practice
After the long storm, his hair hung ___ around his ears.
Choose one answer.
Lank describes hair that hangs straight and limp, as after rain. The other words are real adjectives but do not describe hair this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lank”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.