# slender

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈslɛndə/ · frequency rank #13,238

## Definitions
1. Thin; slim.
2. Meagre; deficient.
3. Palatalized.

## Etymology
From Middle English slendre, sclendre, from Old French esclendre (“thin, slender”), from Middle Dutch slinder (“thin, lank”), from Proto-Germanic *slindraz (“sliding, slippery”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleydʰ- (“to slip”). Cognate with Bavarian Schlenderling (“that which dangles”), German schlendern (“to saunter, stroll”), Dutch slidderen, slinderen (“to wriggle, creep like a serpent”), Low German slindern (“to slide on ice”). More at slide, slither.

## Easily confused with
- **slider** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slender-vs-slider)
- **Spencer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slender-vs-spencer)
- **spender** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slender-vs-spender)
- **Spenser** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slender-vs-spenser)
- **splendor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slender-vs-splendor)
- **sender** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sender-vs-slender)
- **sander** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sander-vs-slender)
- **sleeper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sleeper-vs-slender)
- **slander** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slander-vs-slender)
- **silencer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/silencer-vs-slender)

## Common misspellings (11)
`lsender`, `selnder`, `sledner`, `slendder`, `slenderr`, `slendre`, `slenedr`, `slennder`, `sllender`, `slneder`, `sslender`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/slender