spry

adjective

ˈsprī 

sprier or spryer ˈsprī(-ə)r  ; spriest or spryest ˈsprī-əst 

: able to move quickly, easily, and lightly : nimble sense 1

—used especially to describe an older person

a spry 75-year-old

… his spry libidinous grandfather …

—Stanley Kauffmann

Matthew is getting up in years, you know—he's sixty—and he isn't so spry as he once was.

—Charles Keller

spryly adverb

… hopping spryly onto a treadmill.

—Heather King

Then there's his trumpet playing, which he still does spryly at the age of 82, with its dusty allure intact.

—Giovanni Russonello

spryness noun

… he still has a boyish spryness although he's in his late forties.

—Adam Mars-Jones

Synonyms

• agile
• featly
• feline
• graceful
• gracile
• light
• light-footed
• light-foot
• lightsome
• lissome
• lissom
• lithe
• lithesome
• nimble

Examples of spry in a Sentence

an older woman who's still surprisingly spry

Recent Examples on the Web

The spry legs that carried him to the Pro Bowl were no more, although the Bears’ head coach, Mike Ditka, did not leave him stationary in the pocket. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 Oct. 2024

The 76-year-old King notably offers up some spry elderly heroes, too. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 May 2024

Judging by the sporting photos on his campaign website, Kennedy would like to be seen as the virile, athletic and spry choice for the White House. —Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024

Hank, as Kahn calls him, was spry and agile even in his last decade. —Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

spry

adjective

ˈsprī 

sprier or spryer ˈsprī(-ə)r  ; spriest or spryest ˈsprī-əst 

: light and easy in motion : nimble, sprightly

a spry 75-year-old

spryly adverb

spryness noun