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Glite Dictionary
🦒 Tall and awkwardly 🪡 Loosely or limply
lankily

lankily

7.5
In a tall, thin way that moves awkwardly
  • adverb
  • /ˈlæŋkɪli/
translation icon : desgarbadamente
  • She moved lankily across the stage, her long limbs making her look almost awkward.

Examples

  • He strides lankily through the main dining room around 5 P.M. every day, half-dressed in his suit trousers and a Yankees T-shirt.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The three statues are accordingly seen from too low; the lankily proportioned Madonna, in particular, requires a higher viewing point.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The lankily built athlete stood out among his more muscular teammates.

  • He walked lankily to the front of the classroom, his height making him appear unsteady.

Synonyms

lankly
vslankily
8.7

In a tall thin awkward way when walking

includes awkward visual appearance as well as movement or posture

Antonyms

gracefully
56 2.8

In a smooth and beautiful way that looks controlled

How Awkward

clumsily
12 2.8
awkwardly
38 2.7
lankily
7.5

Surface Forms

lankily positive
lankier comparative
lankiest superlative

Morphology

lankily = lanky (transparent) = lank + y + ly

The adverb is formed regularly from the adjective 'lanky' with '-ly', so the meaning is directly recoverable from the base word.

Etymology

Lankily is related to lank and the common word lanky, which mean 'long and thin'. Picture a tall, thin person moving in a loose, slightly awkward way because of their length, and that is why lankily describes that tall, thin, awkward movement.