spindly
/ˈspɪnd.li/adjective
spindly is spelled S-P-I-N-D-L-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, spindly means “Characteristic of a spindle; slender and of weak appearance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in spindly?
| Letters | 7: S-P-I-N-D-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is spindly?
Spindly appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce spindly?
- US /ˈspɪnd.li/
- US /ˈspɪn.də.li/
Spindly has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spindly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spindly
- spindlier comparative
- spindliest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spindly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characteristic of a spindle; slender and of weak appearance.
Near-synonym: twiggy
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spindly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does spindly come from?
From spindle + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).