thinly
/ˈθɪnli/adverb
thinly is spelled T-H-I-N-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, thinly means “In a thin, loose, or scattered manner; scantily; not thickly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thinly?
| Letters | 6: T-H-I-N-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is thinly?
Thinly appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th 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 thinly?
- /ˈθɪnli/
Thinly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-thinly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thinly
- more thinly comparative
- most thinly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thinly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a thin, loose, or scattered manner; scantily; not thickly.
- 2
Barely; hardly; with little attempt to conceal.
a thinly-veiled attack on my integrity
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does thinly come from?
From Middle English þynnelich (“with thin material; thinly”); equivalent to thin + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).