🥀 Not growing well 💸 Wasteful with money

unthrifty

7.9

Not growing well and looking weak, especially for plants or animals

adjective
/ʌnˈθrɪfti/

: débil

After the harsh winter, many trees appeared unthrifty and failed to produce new leaves.

Examples

The unthrifty plants in the garden struggled to survive.
The unthrifty plants in the corner of the garden needed more sunlight and water.
Farmers often remove unthrifty animals from the herd to maintain overall health.
Why do some trees appear unthrifty in winter?
The gardener noted that the unthrifty plants needed extra care to flourish.
After a harsh winter, many of the flowers looked unthrifty and required replanting.
The farmer was disappointed when he discovered that the unthrifty crops failed to produce a good yield.

Synonyms

unnourished

vsunthrifty

7.5

Not having enough food or nutrients to grow and stay healthy

is a general poor growth state caused by various factors

Antonyms

thriving

6 3.8

Growing and very successful, like a busy café or arts scene

flourishing

1 4.2

Growing quickly and doing well, like a business or town

How Healthy

thriving

6 3.8

vigorous

87 4.1

unthrifty

7.9

weak

524 1.0

stunted

3 4.4

Surface Forms

unthrifty positive

Morphology

unthrifty = thrifty (semi-transparent) = un + thrift + y

Morphologically clear as 'un-' + 'thrifty', but the 'thriving/healthy' sense of 'thrifty' is secondary and less familiar to many learners, so inferring this specific biological sense may be difficult.

Etymology

The word unthrifty also comes from thrift meaning 'to thrive', so when we call plants or animals unthrifty we mean they are literally 'not thriving'. That's why unthrifty describes things that are weak, stunted, or not growing well.