Word Direct Answers

What does "slender" mean?

Slender: Weak; feeble; not strong; slight; as, slender hope; a slender constitution. Mighty hearts are held in slender chains. Pope. They have inferred much from slender premises. J. H. Newman. The slender utterance of the consonants. J. Byrne.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Moderate; trivial; inconsiderable; slight; as, a man of slender intelligence. A slender degree of patience will enable him to enjoy both the humor and the pathos. Sir W. Scott.
  2. 3.Small; inadequate; meager; pitiful; as, slender means of support; a slender pittance. Frequent begging makes slender alms. Fuller.
  3. 4.Spare; abstemious; frugal; as, a slender diet. The good Ostorius often deigned To grace my slender table with his presence. Philips.
  4. 5.(Phon.) Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i. -- Slen"der*ly, adv. -- Slen"der*ness, n.

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