Word Study
thin
CIDE DICTIONARY
thin, a. [OE. thinne, thenne, thunne, AS. ; akin to D. dun, G. dÜnn, OHG. dunni, Icel. , Sw. tunn, Dan. tynd, Gael. & Ir. tana, W. teneu, L. tenuis, Gr. (in comp.) stretched out, stretched, stretched out, long, Skr. tanu thin, slender; also to AS. enian to extend, G. dehnen, Icel. enja, Goth. anjan (in comp.), L. tendere to stretch, tenere to hold, Gr. to stretch, Skr. tan. √51 & 237. Cf. Attenuate, Dance, Tempt, Tenable, Tend to move, Tenous, Thunder, Tone.].
- Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite; as, a thin plate of metal; thin paper; a thin board; a thin covering. [1913 Webster]
- Rare; not dense or thick; -- applied to fluids or soft mixtures; as, thin blood; thin broth; thin air. Shak. [1913 Webster]"In the day, when the air is more thin." [1913 Webster]"Satan, bowing low
His gray dissimulation, disappeared,
Into thin air diffused." [1913 Webster] - Not close; not crowded; not filling the space; not having the individuals of which the thing is composed in a close or compact state; hence, not abundant; as, the trees of a forest are thin; the corn or grass is thin. [1913 Webster]"Ferrara is very large, but extremely thin of people." [1913 Webster]
- Not full or well grown; wanting in plumpness. [1913 Webster]"Seven thin ears . . . blasted with the east wind." [1913 Webster]
- Not stout; slim; slender; lean; gaunt; as, a person becomes thin by disease. [1913 Webster]
- Wanting in body or volume; small; feeble; not full. [1913 Webster]"Thin, hollow sounds, and lamentable screams." [1913 Webster]
- Slight; small; slender; flimsy; wanting substance or depth or force; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering; as, a thin disguise. [1913 Webster]"
Thin is used in the formation of compounds which are mostly self-explaining; as,thin -faced,thin -lipped,thin -peopled,thin -shelled, and the like." [1913 Webster]"My tale is done, for my wit is but thin." [1913 Webster]
thin, adv.
Not thickly or closely; in a seattered state; as, seed sown thin. [1913 Webster]
"Spain is thin sown of people." [1913 Webster]
thin, v. t. [Cf. AS. ge.].
To make thin (in any of the senses of the adjective). [1913 Webster]
thin, v. i.
To grow or become thin; -- used with some adverbs, as out, away, etc.; as, geological strata thin out, i. e. , gradually diminish in thickness until they disappear. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
thin, adj., adv., & v.
--adj. (thinner, thinnest)
1 having the opposite surfaces close together; of small thickness or diameter.
2 a (of a line) narrow or fine. b (of a script or type etc.) consisting of thin lines.
3 made of thin material (a thin dress).
4 lean; not plump.
5 a not dense or copious (thin hair; a thin haze). b not full or closely packed (a thin audience).
6 of slight consistency (a thin paste).
7 weak; lacking an important ingredient (thin blood; a thin voice).
8 (of an excuse, argument, disguise, etc.) flimsy or transparent.
--adv. thinly (cut the bread very thin).
--v. (thinned, thinning)
1 tr. & intr. make or become thin or thinner.
2 tr. & intr. (often foll. by out) reduce; make or become less dense or crowded or numerous.
3 tr. (often foll. by out) remove some of a crop of (seedlings, saplings, etc.) or some young fruit from (a vine or tree) to improve the growth of the rest.
--adj. (thinner, thinnest)
1 having the opposite surfaces close together; of small thickness or diameter.
2 a (of a line) narrow or fine. b (of a script or type etc.) consisting of thin lines.
3 made of thin material (a thin dress).
4 lean; not plump.
5 a not dense or copious (thin hair; a thin haze). b not full or closely packed (a thin audience).
6 of slight consistency (a thin paste).
7 weak; lacking an important ingredient (thin blood; a thin voice).
8 (of an excuse, argument, disguise, etc.) flimsy or transparent.
--adv. thinly (cut the bread very thin).
--v. (thinned, thinning)
1 tr. & intr. make or become thin or thinner.
2 tr. & intr. (often foll. by out) reduce; make or become less dense or crowded or numerous.
3 tr. (often foll. by out) remove some of a crop of (seedlings, saplings, etc.) or some young fruit from (a vine or tree) to improve the growth of the rest.
Idiom
have a thin time colloq. have a wretched or uncomfortable time. on thin ice see ICE. thin air a state of invisibility or non-existence (vanished into thin air). thin end of the wedge see WEDGE(1). thin on the ground see GROUND(1). thin on top balding. thin-skinned sensitive to reproach or criticism; easily upset.
Derivative
thinly adv. thinness n. thinnish adj.
Etymology
OE thynne f. Gmc
THESAURUS
thin
Lenten, Sanforize, Sanforized, Spartan, a bit thick, a bit thin, abate, abrade, abstemious, abstract, absurd, acute, adulterate, adulterated, airy, ankle-deep, argute, ascetic, atomic, attenuate, attenuated, austere, backset, baptize, bate, beyond belief, blow off, bony, boyish, cadaverous, cast forth, cheeseparing, chiffon, chinchy, chintzy, clear, clear as crystal, clear away, colliquate, consume, consumed, corky, corpuscular, creaky, crystal, crystal-clear, crystalline, cultivate, culture, cursory, curtail, cut, cut down, dainty, dead, decoagulate, decoct, decrease, deduct, deficient, delicate, deliquesce, delve, depreciate, depthless, derogate, detract, diaphane, diaphanous, diffuse, dig, dilute, diluted, diminish, disparage, dispel, dispersed, dissipate, dissolve, doubtable, doubtful, drain, draw out, dress, dried-up, drive away, dry up, dubious, dubitable, dwarfed, dwarfish, ear-piercing, eat away, emacerate, emacerated, emaciate, emaciated, embryonic, epidermal, erode, ethereal, etherealize, evanescent, evaporate, exiguous, expand, extenuate, extract, fade, fallow, feeble, fertilize, file away, filmy, fine, finespun, flat, flavorless, flimsy, fluidify, fluidize, flux, force, fragile, frail, frugal, fuse, gangling, gaseous, gaunt, gauzy, germinal, girlish, gossamer, gossamery, gracile, granular, gruelly, half-starved, hard of belief, hard to believe, harrow, high, high-pitched, hoe, hold in solution, howling, impair, impalpable, imperceptible, implausible, imponderable, impoverished, improbable, inadequate, inane, inappreciable, inconceivable, incredible, indifferent, indiscernible, infinitesimal, infrequent, infuse, insipid, insubstantial, insufficient, intangible, invisible, irrigate, jejune, keen, keening, knee-deep, lacy, lame, lank, lanky, leach, lean, lessen, light, light-pervious, limited, limpid, liquefy, liquesce, liquidize, list, lixiviate, lucid, macerate, meager, meagerly, mean, melt, melt down, microcosmic, microscopic, mild, milk-and-water, miserly, misty, molecular, mulch, narrow, niggardly, nonopaque, not deep, not deserving belief, on the surface, open to doubt, open to suspicion, paltry, papery, pappy, parch, parched, parsimonious, passing belief, peekaboo, pellucid, penetrating, percolate, piddling, piercing, pinched, piping, plow, poor, preposterous, preshrink, preshrunk, problematic, prune, pulpy, puny, purify, questionable, rake, rare, rarefied, rarefy, reduce, reedy, refine, refined, remove, retrench, revealing, ridiculous, rub away, run, sapless, savorless, scant, scantily, scanty, scarce, scattered, scraggy, scrawny, screaky, screeching, screechy, scrimp, scrimping, scrimpy, sear, see-through, seldom met with, seldom seen, shallow, shallow-rooted, sharp, sharpen, sheer, shoal, shorten, shrieking, shrieky, shrill, shrink, shrivel, shriveled, shriveled up, shrunk, shrunken, silken, silky, skeletal, skimp, skimping, skimpy, skin-deep, skinny, slender, slenderish, slight, slight-made, slim, slimmish, slinky, small, solubilize, solve, spade, spare, sparing, sparingly, sparse, sparsely, spiceless, spindly, spotty, sprinkled, squeaking, squeaky, staggering belief, stale, starvation, stingy, stinted, straitened, stunted, subatomic, subduct, subsistence, subtile, subtilize, subtle, subtract, superficial, surface, suspect, suspicious, svelte, sylphlike, take away, take from, tall, tasteless, tenuous, thaw, thick, thin, thin away, thin down, thin out, thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-spun, thinned, thinned-out, thinnish, threadlike, tight, till, till the soil, translucent, transparent, transpicuous, treble, trim, trivial, twiggy, ultramicroscopic, ululant, unbelievable, unclot, unclouded, uncommon, uncompact, uncompressed, unconvincing, underfed, undernourished, undersized, underweight, unearthly, unflavored, ungodly, unimaginable, unimportant, unnourishing, unnutritious, unprofound, unsatisfying, unsavory, unseeable, unsubstantial, untenable, unthinkable, unusual, unworthy of belief, vague, vapid, vaporous, volatilize, wailing, washy, wasp-waisted, waste, waste away, wasted, wasted away, water, water down, watered, watered-down, waterish, watery, weak, weaken, wear away, weazen, weazened, weed, weed out, whining, whistling, willowy, windy, wiredrawn, wishy-washy, wispy, withdraw, wither, withered, wizen, wizen-faced, wizened, work, worthlessROGET THESAURUS
thin
Insufficiency
N insufficiency, inadequacy, inadequateness, incompetence, deficiency, imperfection, shortcoming, paucity, stint, scantiness, none to spare, bare subsistence, scarcity, dearth, want, need, lack, poverty, exigency, inanition, starvation, famine, drought, dole, mite, pittance, short allowance, short commons, half rations, banyan day, emptiness, poorness, depletion, vacancy, flaccidity, ebb tide, low water, a beggarly account of empty boxes, indigence, insolvency, drain of resources, impoverish, stint, put on short allowance, do insufficiently, scotch the snake, Adj, insufficient, inadequate, too little, not enough, unequal to, incompetent, weighed in the balance and found wanting, perfunctory, deficient, wanting imperfect, ill-furnished, ill-provided, ill- stored, ill-off, slack, at a low ebb, empty, vacant, bare, short of, out of, destitute of, devoid of, bereft of, denuded of, dry, drained, unprovided, unsupplied, unfurnished, unreplenished, unfed, unstored, untreasured, empty-handed, meager, poor, thin, scrimp, sparing, spare, stinted, starved, starving, halfstarved, famine-stricken, famished, jejune, scant, scarce, not to be had, not to be had for love or money, not to be had at any price, scurvy, stingy, at the end of one's tether, without resources, in want, in debt, insufficiently, in default of, for want of, failing, semper avarus eget.Subtraction
VB subduct, subtract, deduct, deduce, bate, retrench, remove, withdraw, take from, take away, detract, garble, mutilate, amputate, detruncate, cut off, cut away, cut out, abscind, excise, pare, thin, prune, decimate, abrade, scrape, file, geld, castrate, eliminate, diminish, curtail, deprive of, weaken.Fewness
VB be few, render few, reduce, diminish the number, weed, eliminate, cull, thin, decimate.N fewness, paucity, small number, small quantity, rarity, infrequency, handful, maniple, minority, exiguity, reduction, weeding, elimination, sarculation, decimation, eradication, few, scant, scanty, thin, rare, scattered, thinly scattered, spotty, few and far between, exiguous, infrequent, rari nantes, hardly any, scarcely any, to be counted on one's fingers, reduced, unrepeated, rarely, here and there.
Littleness
N littleness, smallness, exiguity, inextension, parvitude, parvity, duodecimo, Elzevir edition, epitome, microcosm, rudiment, vanishing point, thinness, dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf, atomy, dandiprat, doll, puppet, Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb, manikin, mannikin, homunculus, dapperling, cock-sparrow, animalcule, monad, mite, insect, emmet, fly, midge, gnat, shrimp, minnow, worm, maggot, entozoon, bacteria, infusoria, microzoa, phytozoaria, microbe, grub, tit, tomtit, runt, mouse, small fry, millet seed, mustard seed, barleycorn, pebble, grain of sand, molehill, button, bubble, point, atom, fragment, powder, point of a pin, mathematical point, minutiae, micrometer, vernier, scale, microphotography, photomicrography, micrography, photomicrograph, microphotograph, microscopy, microscope (optical instruments), little, small, minute, diminutive, microscopic, microzoal, inconsiderable, exiguous, puny, tiny, wee, petty, minikin, miniature, pygmy, pigmy, elfin, undersized, dwarf, dwarfed, dwarfish, spare, stunted, limited, cramp, cramped, pollard, Liliputian, dapper, pocket, portative, portable, duodecimo, dumpy, squat, short, impalpable, intangible, evanescent, imperceptible, invisible, inappreciable, insignificant, inconsiderable, trivial, infinitesimal, homoeopathic, atomic, subatomic, corpuscular, molecular, rudimentary, rudimental, embryonic, vestigial, weazen, scant, scraggy, scrubby, thin, granular, shrunk, brevipennate, in a small compass, in a nutshell, on a small scale, minutely, microscopically.Thinness
N narrowness, thinness, narrowness, closeness, exility, exiguity, line, hair's breadth, finger's breadth, strip, streak, vein, monolayer, epitaxial deposition, thinness, tenuity, emaciation, macilency, marcor, shaving, slip, thread paper, skeleton, shadow, anatomy, spindleshanks, lantern jaws, mere skin and bone, middle constriction, stricture, neck, waist, isthmus, wasp, hourglass, ridge, ghaut, ghat, pass, ravine, narrowing, coarctation, angustation, tapering, contraction, narrow, close, slender, thin, fine, thread-like, finespun, gossamer, paper-thin, taper, slim, slight-made, scant, scanty, spare, delicate, incapacious, contracted, unexpanded &c (expand), slender as a thread, emaciated, lean, meager, gaunt, macilent, lank, lanky, weedy, skinny, scrawny slinky, starved, starveling, herring gutted, worn to a shadow, lean as a rake, thin as a lath, thin as a whipping post, thin as a wafer, hatchet-faced, lantern-jawed, attenuated, shriveled, extenuated, tabid, marcid, barebone, rawboned, monomolecular.Rarity
N rarity, tenuity, absence of solidity, subtility, subtilty, subtlety, sponginess, compressibility, rarefaction, expansion, dilatation, inflation, subtilization, vaporization, evaporation, diffusion, gassification, ether, rare, subtile, thin, fine, tenuous, compressible, flimsy, slight, light, cavernous, spongy, rarefied, unsubstantial, uncompact, incompressed, rarefiable.For further exploring for "thin" in Webster Dictionary Online
