slender

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparableapproving

   Pleasantly thin and narrow, in a graceful way.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a slender neck, her fingers were slender.

   The dancer had a slender frame and long arms.

   A slender candle burned on the table.

   They crossed the river on a slender bridge.

2. 2adjectivebefore a noun

   Small in amount, strength or likelihood, and barely enough.

   Grammar: Often comes before words like chance, lead or margin: a slender hope.

   The team won by a slender margin of one point.

   There is only a slender chance of finding them alive.

   The family lived on a slender income.

Word forms

Common combinations

slender build

He has a slender build and runs marathons.

slender chance

We have a slender chance of catching the last train.

slender margin

The party won by a slender margin.

slender fingers

The pianist's slender fingers moved quickly.

slender lead

She held a slender lead going into the final lap.

slender means

They raised four children on slender means.

Synonyms and how they differ

slim

Slim is more common and often applies to a person's body, while slender suits a graceful shape or elegant object.

skinny

Skinny is informal and often suggests too thin, whereas slender is complimentary.

lean

Lean suggests a fit, muscular thinness with little fat, rather than delicate gracefulness.

slight

Slight can mean small in amount or build, but for chances and margins it is milder and less poetic than slender.

Opposites

Word family

slenderly adverb

in a slender manner

slenderness noun

the quality of being slender

slenderize verb

to make or look slimmer

slenderise verb

British spelling of slenderize

Commonly confused: slender or slander?

Practice

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