featherlight

1 3.6

Very light to touch or not very important

adjective
/ˈfɛðərˌlaɪt/

: ultraligero

She felt featherlight as she floated in the water, completely free of weight.

Examples

His comments were featherlight and did not address the real issues.
The fabric is featherlight and perfect for summer.
The scarf was so featherlight that she barely noticed it around her neck.
She wore a featherlight dress perfect for the hot summer day.
This pillow is featherlight and fluffy.
The featherlight fabric made the jacket perfect for warm summer days.
His featherlight steps on the soft grass barely made a sound.

Synonyms

lightweight

vsfeatherlight

41 2.8

Weighing less than other items of the same type

is stronger in lightness and also applies to touch movement or importance

ultralight

vsfeatherlight

2 3.7

Weighs much less than similar items

has the same extreme weight but also covers light touch movement or importance

superlight

vsfeatherlight

1 3.9

Very light in weight and easy to carry

stresses portability while also meaning light in touch movement or importance

How Light

featherlight

1 3.6

lightweight

41 2.8

light

11 7.0

Surface Forms

featherlight positive

Morphology

featherlight = feather + light (transparent) = feather + light

The adjective is a straightforward compound 'feather' + 'light' meaning 'as light as a feather', which learners can readily infer.

Etymology

Featherlight joins feather and light, giving the image of being 'as light as a feather' that floats on the air. So featherlight means very easy to lift or touch and can also describe something 'not heavy' in feeling or 'not serious' in importance.