Standard Lemma guide

thinness

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: TH IH1 N N IH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: TH IH1 N IH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state or quality of being thin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a consistency of low viscosity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he disliked the thinness of the soup

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: thickness

Broader terms: consistency, consistence, eubstance, body

Narrower terms: fluidity, fluidness, liquidity, liquidness, runniness, wateriness

3

noun

Meaning 3

the property of having little body fat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: leanness, spareness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bodily property

Narrower terms: skinniness, scrawniness, bonyness, boniness, emaciation, gauntness, maceration, slenderness, slightness, slimness, wiriness

4

noun

Meaning 4

relatively small dimension through an object as opposed to its length or width

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the tenuity of a hair
  • the thinness of a rope

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tenuity, slenderness

Antonyms: thickness

Broader terms: dimension

5

noun

Meaning 5

the property of being scanty or scattered; lacking denseness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sparseness, spareness, sparsity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: meagerness, meagreness, leanness, poorness, scantiness, scantness, exiguity

6

noun

Meaning 6

the property of being very narrow or thin

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he marvelled at the fineness of her hair

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fineness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: narrowness

History

Etymology

From Middle English thynnesse, from Old English þynnes (“thinness, slightness of density, lack of density, tenuity, fluidity, poverty, feebleness of sight, weakness”), equivalent to thin + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: رِقَّة (riqqa) — the state of being thin
  • Old Czech: chvorost — the state of being thin
  • Dutch: dunheid — the state of being thin
  • Esperanto: subtilaĵo — the state of being thin
  • Esperanto: subtileco — the state of being thin
  • Finnish: ohuus — the state of being thin
  • Finnish: laihuus — the state of being thin
  • French: finesse — the state of being thin
  • German: Dünnheit — the state of being thin
  • Ancient Greek: λεπτότης (leptótēs) — the state of being thin
  • Ancient Greek: ἰσχνότης (iskhnótēs) — the state of being thin
  • Hindi: पतलापन (patlāpan) — the state of being thin
  • Hindi: दुबलापन (dublāpan) — the state of being thin
  • Irish: caoile — the state of being thin
  • Latin: macritūdō — the state of being thin
  • Latin: gracilitās — the state of being thin
  • Polish: chudość — the state of being thin
  • Portuguese: fineza — the state of being thin
  • Portuguese: magreza — the state of being thin
  • Portuguese: delgadeza — the state of being thin
  • Russian: то́нкость (tónkostʹ) — the state of being thin
  • Spanish: delgadez — the state of being thin
  • Spanish: flaqueza — the state of being thin
  • Spanish: flacura — the state of being thin
  • Tausug: nipis — the state of being thin
  • Ottoman Turkish: ضعیفلق (zaʼiflık) — the state of being thin