as in gaunt
being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed
the lanky basketball star was great at slam-dunking
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lanky
He’s got a whole team scouring the subway for a tall, lanky, besuited man challenging down-on-their-luck strangers to one-on-one ddakji.
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Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2025
Paul is in his sixties but has a youthful and bohemian air, with a tall, lanky frame, a ponytail down his back, and the tattoos of past lives along the surface of his arms.
—Rachel Kushner, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
His lanky figure curved on the piano bench and his long curls dangled over the keys.
—Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 27 Jan. 2025
The lanky righty has steadily gained fastball velocity since the Red Sox drafted him at age 17 in 2021.
—John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lanky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lanky
Adjective
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Some appeared gaunt, and the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said four were taken for treatment.—
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Last week, three male Israeli hostages who were released were frail and gaunt — appearing to be in worse condition than previous hostages Hamas released.—
Adjective
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Her appearances have been accompanied by stylish, noir chic ensembles: a button-up white top and skinny black tie here, a glen plaid gray jacket and slacks there.—
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Most holes look exactly the same, straightforward with skinny fairways and thick rough.—
Adjective
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Two dense clusters of the spindly florals become a bikini-tie top, worn with an open-front catsuit that looks like it was drawn directly onto the models body.—
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Listing photos suggest even the décor is unchanged: spindly furniture, oil paintings, and, in that dining room, the kind of plush fabric wall coverings that entice curious fingertips in the decorative wing of the Met.—
Adjective
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His tools are evident: The ability to hang onto the puck under pressure for a rangier player, or split through traffic to handle underneath sticks, the ability to skate and shoot, the pro frame (listed by the Eagles at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds), etc.—
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The young defenceman was rangy, wanted desperately to be a beast to play against and offered some mobility.—
Adjective
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Truong makes a strong case for it and goes minimal with thin French tips and daisies peeking out on the corners of each nail for singer Ella Mai.—
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Draft experts agree that this incoming quarterback class is somewhat thin and certainly top-heavy.—
Adjective
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The gangly physicality of Pellerin’s performance also helps keep us guessing about how far Matt will go and whether his victories will hold.—
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Bringing a skittish, awkward energy that contrasted with Letterman’s deadpan persona, O’Brien constantly made fun of his own gangly appearance and inappropriateness for the job.—
Adjective
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Yet there have been many tall, slender prospects who played like tigers in the minors and like scared kittens against big-league pitching.—
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The slender piece of wood can serve as a useful tool—especially for puppies, who often chew on objects like sticks to soothe discomfort while teething, much like teething children are given hard objects to chew.—
Cite this Entry
“Lanky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lanky. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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