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Glite Dictionary
🌱 Full of weeds 🦴 Thin and weak
weedy

weedy

1 5.4
Very thin and weak, with little muscle
  • adjective
  • /ˈwiːdi/
: flaco
  • "I'm thin and weedy! I'd be of no use to them!"
  • a weedy man
  • a weedy little
  • a weedy young

Examples

  • Patty Kay's weedy brother-in-law tensed.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • There he was, a tall, rather weedy young man, with long arms and bony hands, and his eyes—but Ben knew those eyes without having to see them: large, hazy blue eyes.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "Eric!" A weedy young man with acne poked his head around a corner.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I looked up from my desk and saw him, a round, fat ball of a man—impossibly short and weedy.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • "She studied him: a dear, weedy man with silver threads beginning to streak his hair and dark circles under his eyes, the one constant figure throughout her adult life.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The weedy boy struggled to keep up during the soccer match due to his thin build.

  • After months without proper nutrition, he looked increasingly weedy and frail.

  • Everyone noticed how weedy he appeared after weeks of illness and lack of activity.

Synonyms

skinny
vsweedy
349 1.3

Very thin in a way that looks unhealthy

focuses on physical weakness and missing muscle rather than mere thinness
scrawny
vsweedy
  • Informal
44 4.2

Very thin and weak in a way that looks unhealthy

focuses on lacking flesh and muscle rather than mere appearance
bony
vsweedy
31 2.5

So thin that you can see the bones under the skin

emphasizes overall physical weakness and missing muscle beyond just visible bones
scraggly
vsweedy
10 6.0

Thin and untidy in appearance, often with rough, uneven ends

focuses on lack of flesh and muscle and clear physical weakness rather than untidiness
underweight
vsweedy
8 3.1

Very thin and below a healthy weight for their age and height

describes thinness by visible lack of flesh and reduced physical strength rather than weight
boney
vsweedy
  • US
2 3.4

Thin so you can see or feel the bones

emphasizes missing muscle and reduced strength more than mere visible bone appearance
scraggy
vsweedy
1 7.9

Very thin and bony in a way that looks unhealthy

highlights lack of flesh and reduced strength rather than only visible bones

Antonyms

robust
120 3.9

Strong and able to work well in difficult conditions

muscular
55 2.8

Having strong, well-developed muscles

Compounds

weedy appearance
6.2

An untidy look caused by many plants growing out of control

How Thin

emaciated
11 7.8
gaunt
15 7.3
weedy
1 5.4
thin
310 1.0
slender
64 1.4

Surface Forms

weedy positive

Morphology

weedy = weed (semi-transparent) = weed + y

Formally derived from 'weed' + '-y', but the adjectival meaning 'thin, spindly' is a metaphorical extension that may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Weedy comes from weed, the wild or unwanted plant. Because a weed can look thin and weak, calling a person weedy means they are very thin or not strong.