Skip to main content
handlike

handlike

4.4
Shaped like a human hand and able to hold things
  • adjective
  • /ˈhændˌlaɪk/
translation icon : similar a una mano
  • The robot was designed with handlike claws that could easily grasp small objects.

Examples

  • Like a dropping tear, it rolled down the side and sank below a cluster of stubby, handlike stems.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Some plants have handlike leaves that seem to reach out for sunlight.

  • The creature's handlike appendages allowed it to manipulate tools with ease.

Synonyms

glove-like
vshandlike
3.5

Having separate parts for each finger so each fits into its own space

focuses on actual grasping and manipulation ability rather than merely shape

Antonyms

nonprehensile
  • Specialized
9.9

Cannot hold things with a body part, for example a tail or foot

7.4

Not having one or both hands

How Handlike

prehensile
  • Specialized
3 8.2
handlike
4.4

Surface Forms

handlike positive

Morphology

handlike = hand (transparent) = like + hand

The adjective is directly formed from the noun 'hand' plus the productive suffix '-like' meaning 'resembling', so learners knowing 'hand' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word handlike is made from the everyday word hand ('the body part') and the ending -like meaning 'similar to'. So handlike means 'similar to a hand' or 'acting like a hand', and we use it for things that look or work like a hand and can grab or hold objects.