Meaning & use

spry

adjective·Academic

Active, energetic, and nimble in movement, especially used to describe an older person who moves with surprising ease.

See it in a sentence

At eighty-five, my grandmother remains spry enough to garden for hours every afternoon.

The spry terrier darted between the chairs, chasing a ball no one had thrown yet.

A note on using this word

Spry is most often used to praise an elderly person's unexpected vigor, so it can sound odd applied to a young adult.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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