as in gaunt
being tall, thin and usually loose-jointed
a gangly teenager who was born to play varsity basketball
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of gangly
So named for his gangly appearance by teammates at Miami, the Hall of Fame linebacker spent one all-pro season with the Packers in 1974.
—
Journal Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2024
Eventually, the group’s number is reduced to one: a gangly, smart-mouthed junior named Angus Tully, played by newcomer Dominic Sessa in an exceptionally impressive debut.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
The gangly wood stork, with its long legs and bald head, is none of those.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2023
In ostriches — which weigh more than 200 pounds and speed through the savanna on their gangly legs at speeds of up to 30 mph — this is not an issue.
—Luke Taylor, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2022
See all Example Sentences for gangly 
Journal Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2024
Eventually, the group’s number is reduced to one: a gangly, smart-mouthed junior named Angus Tully, played by newcomer Dominic Sessa in an exceptionally impressive debut.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
The gangly wood stork, with its long legs and bald head, is none of those.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2023
In ostriches — which weigh more than 200 pounds and speed through the savanna on their gangly legs at speeds of up to 30 mph — this is not an issue.
—Luke Taylor, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2022
See all Example Sentences for gangly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangly
Adjective
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The face that looked back at her in the rearview mirror was gaunt, her skin pale around glassy hazel eyes.—
Glenn E. Rice,
Kansas City Star,
7 Jan. 2025
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Gone is the gaunt, skeletal vampire of the 1922 film, replaced by a larger, more intimidating, master of the undead with a mustache and deep voice.—
Scott Phillips,
Forbes,
23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In the video, a lanky kid is smoothly fielding balls on a dirt infield, then throwing hard strikes from the mound, and then lacing line drives from the left-handed batter’s box.—
Dan Freedman,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
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Their common name is derived from their prehensile tails, some as long as three feet, which the animals use along with their disproportionately lanky limbs to grasp branches and other objects.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Something is wrong when a police officer who threatened to kill my son comes to my home and, without hesitating, without negotiating with a sick, skinny 21-year-old in crisis, carries out his threat and shoots my son five times.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
26 Jan. 2025
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The woman walked past, shuffling her skinny legs with determination.—
Samanta Schweblin,
The New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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That evening, Flora and Dani were in the activities room, sitting on spindly chairs, explaining to Gala, Pip, and a handful of others what had happened earlier in the day.—
Sheila Heti,
The New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2025
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But a few Decembers ago, its branches turned into spindly things where spikes grew instead of leaves.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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His tools are evident: The ability to hang onto the puck under pressure for a rangier player, or split through traffic to handle underneath sticks, the ability to skate and shoot, the pro frame (listed by the Eagles at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds), etc.—
Scott Wheeler,
The Athletic,
17 Jan. 2025
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The young defenceman was rangy, wanted desperately to be a beast to play against and offered some mobility.—
Joshua Kloke,
The Athletic,
4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Mother Nature removes this thin coating of cement/lime paste over time, exposing the sand color to your eyes.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
25 Jan. 2025
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The Verge’s Allison Johnson joins David and Nilay to talk about the vibes at Unpacked, where the thinner S25 Edge inspired raucous enthusiasm, and where Samsung tried to make the case that AI will make your phone better even if there’s not much new hardware to speak of.—
David Pierce,
The Verge,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Lift your hips off the ground and place a block underneath your sacrum, the widest, boniest part of your pelvis.—
Cory Martin,
Verywell Health,
16 Oct. 2024
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Differences in Adult Bones That being said, some adults are bonier than others.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
3 Nov. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near gangly
Cite this Entry
“Gangly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangly. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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