slenderness

2 definitions found

slenderness - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Slender \Slen"der\, a. [Compar. Slenderer; superl.
     Slenderest.] [OE. slendre, sclendre, fr. OD. slinder thin,
     slender, perhaps through a French form; cf. OD. slinderen,
     slidderen, to creep; perh. akin to E. slide.]
     1. Small or narrow in proportion to the length or the height;
        not thick; slim; as, a slender stem or stalk of a plant.
        "A slender, choleric man." --Chaucer.
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              She, as a veil down to the slender waist,
              Her unadorned golden tresses wore.    --Milton.
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     2. Weak; feeble; not strong; slight; as, slender hope; a
        slender constitution.
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              Mighty hearts are held in slender chains. --Pope.
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              They have inferred much from slender premises. --J.
                                                    H. Newman.
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              The slender utterance of the consonants. --J. Byrne.
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     3. Moderate; trivial; inconsiderable; slight; as, a man of
        slender intelligence.
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              A slender degree of patience will enable him to
              enjoy both the humor and the pathos.  --Sir W.
                                                    Scott.
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     4. Small; inadequate; meager; pitiful; as, slender means of
        support; a slender pittance.
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              Frequent begging makes slender alms.  --Fuller.
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     5. Spare; abstemious; frugal; as, a slender diet.
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              The good Ostorius often deigned
              To grace my slender table with his presence.
                                                    --Philips.
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     6. (Phon.) Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of
        broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i.
        [1913 Webster] -- Slen"der*ly, adv. -- Slen"der*ness,
        n.
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slenderness - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  slenderness
      n 1: the quality of being slight or inadequate; "he knew the
           slenderness of my wallet"; "the slenderness of the chances
           that anything would be done"; "the slenderness of the
           evidence"
      2: relatively small dimension through an object as opposed to
         its length or width; "the tenuity of a hair"; "the thinness
         of a rope" [syn: thinness, tenuity, slenderness] [ant:
         thickness]
      3: the property of an attractively thin person [syn:
         slenderness, slightness, slimness]