lithe

Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

lithe

(līth)

adj. lith·er, lith·est

1. Readily bent; supple: lithe birch branches.

2. Marked by effortless grace: a lithe ballet dancer.

[Middle English, from Old English līthe, flexible, mild.]

lithe′ly adv.

lithe′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lithe

(laɪð)

adj

flexible or supple

[Old English (in the sense: gentle; C15: supple); related to Old High German lindi soft, Latin lentus slow]

ˈlithely adv

ˈlitheness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lithe

(laɪð, laɪθ)

adj. lith•er, lith•est.

bending readily; pliant; limber; supple; flexible.

[before 900; Middle English lith(e), Old English līthe, c. Old Saxon līthi, Old High German lindi mild, Latin lentus slow]

lithe′ly, adv.

lithe′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.

lithe - moving and bending with ease

lissom, lissome, lithesome, supple, sylphlike, svelte, slender

graceful - characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution

lithe

adjective supple, flexible, agile, limber, pliable, pliant, lissom(e), loose-jointed, loose-limbed His walk was lithe and graceful.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

مَرِن، لَيِّن، رشيق

mrštný

smidig

lipur, liîugur

lokans

lithe

[laɪð] ADJ → ágil

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

lithe

[ˈlaɪð] adj → agile, souple

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

lithe

adj (+er) → geschmeidig; person, body also → gelenkig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

lithe

[laɪð] adj (frm) → agile, flessuoso/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

lithe

(laið) adjective

(used especially of the human body) bending easily; flexible. as lithe as a cat.

ˈlitheness noun

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Akut and the apes of Akut stood looking in startled wonder at the dead body of Sheeta and the lithe, straight figure of the man who had slain him.

View in context

She swung from limb to limb, or she raced through the mighty branches, surefooted, lithe, and fearless.

View in context

TARA of Helium rose from the pile of silks and soft furs upon which she had been reclining, stretched her lithe body languidly, and crossed toward the center of the room, where, above a large table, a bronze disc depended from the low ceiling.

View in context

The noise of their battle with Numa had drawn an excited horde of savages from the nearby village, and a moment after the lion's death the two men were surrounded by lithe, ebon warriors, gesticulating and jabbering--a thousand questions that drowned each ventured reply.

View in context

Here he again made it fast, and taking the loose end in his hand, clambered quickly down among the branches as far as the rope would permit him to go; then he swung out upon the end of it, his lithe, young body turning and twisting--a human bob upon a pendulum of grass--thirty feet above the ground.

View in context

'Well, "SLITHY" means "lithe and slimy." "Lithe" is the same as "active." You see it's like a portmanteau--there are two meanings packed up into one word.'

View in context

An unusually handsome lithe young fellow, and an unusually handsome lithe girl; much alike; both very dark, and very rich in colour; she of almost the gipsy type; something untamed about them both; a certain air upon them of hunter and huntress; yet withal a certain air of being the objects of the chase, rather than the followers.

View in context

To look at the tawny brawn of his lithe snaky limbs, you would almost have credited the superstitions of some of the earlier Puritans, and half believed this wild Indian to be a son of the Prince of the Powers of the Air.

View in context

There was a quick dance of their lithe grey-figured bodies over the clumsy, prostrate figure.

View in context

The trees were lithe, mirthful, erect -- bright, slender, and graceful, -- of eastern figure and foliage, with bark smooth, glossy, and parti-colored.

View in context

At last came she whom Tarzan sought, with lithe sinews rolling beneath shimmering hide; fat and glossy came Sabor, the lioness.

View in context

It was the picture of a lithe, white-skinned youth swinging through the trees in company with a band of huge apes, and the old eyes blinked and a great fear came into them--the superstitious fear of one who believes in ghosts and spirits and demons.

View in context

CITE

Site: Follow: Share:

Open / Close