How to Use spindly in a Sentence

spindly

adjective
  • The trees were too spindly to climb, the yard too narrow to fit a truck.
    — Chris Colin, Popular Mechanics, 19 Apr. 2017
  • Here and there, spindly trees poke through what’s left of the roof at the place called Tacheles.
    — Sheryl Oring, WIRED, 27 Aug. 1997
  • Full greens with large blades, and turf with spindly threads.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022
  • Too much heat from the light results in spindly plants.
    — oregonlive, 30 Apr. 2022
  • The trees were all short and spindly, leaned a bit too much or were thin on one side.
    — Greg Borowski, Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2024
  • The top of the tree is bent over because the load of new leaves is too heavy for such a spindly stem.
    — oregonlive, 29 May 2020
  • Daniil Medvedev, the spindly 6-foot-6 Russian across the net.
    — Wayne Coffey, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2020
  • Also, what is the best way to prune so my tree is not so spindly.
    — oregonlive, 11 Oct. 2019
  • Popovich let his spindly point guard play a four-time MVP one-on-one.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Jan. 2018
  • But the spindly, fragile footbridge was too weak to bear the weight of all this love.
    — Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, 4 Nov. 2019
  • But by the end of the game, the spindly point guard with the knee-high socks and forest green jersey awed them.
    — Josh Robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, 19 June 2018
  • Coach Gregg Popovich did not know what to make of the spindly 20-year-old standing in front of him.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Dec. 2021
  • The chances are there will be a spindly guy with arms like javelins right beside him.
    — Ben Cohen, WSJ, 1 June 2021
  • About the length of a banana, olms have eel-like bodies and spindly legs.
    — Elizabeth Anne Brown, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Tiny, woolly white bumps the size of sesame seeds coat the sapling’s spindly branches.
    — Zoya Teirstein, Wired, 14 Aug. 2021
  • Clark is tall and spindly and moves in a hoppy, twitchy way, like a shorebird.
    — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2018
  • Don't go for spindly, weak stems, and avoid the oldest branches, too.
    — Savanna Bous, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 June 2023
  • My grandmother watched as the tall, spindly man walked from his car up to the front gate of her house.
    — Matthew Bremner, Slate Magazine, 24 July 2017
  • The plants often grow where nothing else will, and are spindly but tough.
    — Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Seen from the pool, the deck appeared to cling to the rear facade, and was perched on a small forest of tall, spindly wood posts.
    — Richard A. Marini, ExpressNews.com, 17 Dec. 2020
  • The spindly filopodia are about a hundredth the width of a human hair and about a thousandth wide.
    — Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2018
  • The first thing Molina noticed about Pepi was his spindly frame.
    — New York Times, 12 Nov. 2021
  • Out pops a bloodthirsty little xeno with a spindly tail.
    — Scottie Andrew, CNN, 16 Aug. 2024
  • Look for medium to compact-sized plants (not tall spindly ones) with foliage that goes all the way down to the soil.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Country Living, 1 Mar. 2021
  • Add pops of red to a neutral space or a spindly chair to capture cottage chic in your room.
    — Nora Colomer, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Cut yourself a big bouquet and trim spindly, dead or crossing branches to encourage better blooms this spring.
    — Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
  • These spindly designer picks will look right at home year-round and can elevate a space, inside or out.
    — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 28 Jan. 2026
  • One is a spindly stick about 2 1/2 feet long that could have been used for digging in the mud.
    — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
  • This large mammal walked on long, spindly limbs — almost like a modern ungulate, such as a horse or zebra — yet its legs ended in massive, hooked claws.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
  • Leaving mats on too long or allowing seedling roots to get too warm can result in weak plant stems and spindly growth.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spindly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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