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Glite Dictionary
wasp-waisted

wasp-waisted

8.8
A body shape with a very small waist compared with the rest of the body
  • adjective
  • /ˈwɑːspˌweɪstɪd/
translation icon : cintura de avispa
  • She admired the wasp-waisted silhouette of the vintage dress displayed in the shop window.
  • wasp-waisted dress

Examples

  • She was tall and wasp-waisted, and she always, at least in my memory, wore nylon stockings.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • He is of various sizes; it is in different periods and styles: pudgy-waisted or thin-waisted, almost wasp-waisted.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • She'd always been wasp-waisted, but now her skin seemed oddly transparent, as if everything inside, the entire circuitry of her body, were visible to whoever came within her parameters.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The model wore a stunning wasp-waisted gown that accentuated her hourglass figure.

  • His wasp-waisted figure was admired by everyone at the fashion show for its elegance.

Synonyms

waisted
vswasp-waisted
1 3.8

Having a narrow, fitted middle that shapes the body

is specific to an extreme body proportion rather than general fitted shape
slender-waisted
vswasp-waisted
5.4

Having a thin waist

is markedly narrower and noticeably smaller in proportion to the body
slim-waisted
vswasp-waisted
4.2

A person or thing with a small, narrow middle part of the body

is markedly narrower and more obviously small in proportion to the body
waspy
vswasp-waisted
8.4

Looking like a wasp with a narrow waist or black-and-yellow stripes

is about narrowness without extra striping or insect like colouring
wasplike
vswasp-waisted
6.0

Looking or acting like a wasp

is focused on an extreme narrow middle, not general resemblance or behaviour

How Narrow

pinched
3.9
wasp-waisted
8.8
slim
60 1.0
average
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

wasp-waisted positive

Morphology

wasp-waisted = wasp + waist (transparent) = wasp + waist + ed

The compound 'wasp' + 'waist' describes a waist like a wasp's and adding '-ed' creates an adjectival meaning that is directly inferable.

Etymology

Wasp-waisted comes from comparing a person's middle to a wasp, the insect with a very thin body between its front and back. So wasp-waisted means having a very small or 'narrow' waist compared with the rest of the body.