having relatively little extent from one surface or side to the opposite; not thick: thin ice.
2.
of small cross section in comparison with the length; slender: a thin wire.
3.
having little flesh; spare; lean: a thin man.
4.
composed of or containing objects, particles, etc., widely separated; sparse: thin vegetation.
5.
scant; not abundant or plentiful.
6.
of relatively slight consistency or viscosity: thin soup.
7.
rarefied, as air.
8.
without solidity or substance; flimsy: a very thin plot for such a long book.
9.
lacking fullness or volume; weak and shrill: a thin voice.
10.
without force or a sincere effort: a thin smile.
11.
lacking body, richness, or strength: a thin wine.
12.
lacking in chroma; of light tint.
13.
Photography. (of a developed negative) lacking in density or contrast through underdevelopment or underexposure.
–adverb
14.
in a thin manner.
15.
sparsely; not densely.
16.
so as to produce something thin: Slice the ham thin.
–verb (used with object)
17.
to make thin or thinner (often fol. by down, out, etc.).
–verb (used without object)
18.
to become thin or thinner; become reduced or diminished (often fol. by down, out, off, etc.): The crowd is thinning out.
[Origin: bef. 900; (adj. and adv.) ME thyn(ne), OE thynne; c. D dun, G dünn, ON thunnr; (v.) ME thynnen, OE thynnian, deriv. of the adj.; cf. MD dunnen, ON thynna; akin to OIr tana, L tenuis thin, Gk tany- long]
—Related forms
thinly, adverb
thinness, noun
—Synonyms 3. slim, slender, skinny, lank, scrawny. Thin,gaunt,lean,spare agree in referring to one having little flesh. Thin applies often to one in an unnaturally reduced state, as from sickness, overwork, lack of food, or the like: a thin, dirty little waif. Gaunt suggests the angularity of bones prominently displayed in a thin face and body: to look ill and gaunt. Lean usually applies to a person or animal that is naturally thin: looking lean but healthy after an outdoor vacation. Spare implies a muscular leanness with no diminution of vitality: Lincoln was spare in body. 5. meager. 8. weak.
O.E. þynne "narrow, lean, scanty," from P.Gmc. *thunnuz, *thunw- (cf. W.Fris. ten, M.L.G. dunne, Du. dun, O.H.G. dunni, Ger. dünn, O.N. þunnr), from PIE *tnus-, *tnwi-, from weak grade of base *ten- "stretch" (cf. L. tenuis "thin, slender;" see tenet).
"These our actors ... were all Spirits, and Are melted into Ayre, into thin Ayre." [Shakespeare, "The Tempest," IV.i.150, 1610]
The verb is from O.E. þynnian "to make thin" (cf. Ger. dünnen, Du. dunnen); intrans. sense of "to become less numerous" is attested from 1743; that of "to become thinner" is recorded from 1804. Thin-skinned is attested from 1598; the fig. sense of "touchy" is from 1680.
of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section; "thin wire"; "a thin chiffon blouse"; "a thin book"; "a thin layer of paint" [ant: thick]
2.
lacking excess flesh; "you can't be too rich or too thin"; "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look"-Shakespeare [ant: fat]
3.
very narrow; "a thin line across the page" [syn: slender]
4.
not dense; "a thin beard"; "trees were sparse" [syn: sparse]
5.
relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous; "air is thin at high altitudes"; "a thin soup"; "skimmed milk is much thinner than whole milk"; "thin oil" [ant: thick]
6.
(of sound) lacking resonance or volume; "a thin feeble cry" [ant: full]
7.
lacking spirit or sincere effort; "a thin smile"
8.
lacking substance or significance; "slight evidence"; "a tenuous argument"; "a thin plot"; a fragile claim to fame" [syn: flimsy]
adverb
1.
without viscosity; "the blood was flowing thin" [syn: thinly] [ant: thick]
verb
1.
lose thickness; become thin or thinner [ant: inspissate]
2.
make thin or thinner; "Thin the solution" [ant: inspissate]
3.
lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture; "cut bourbon" [syn: dilute]
having a short distance between opposite sides Example: thin paper; The walls of these houses are too thin.
Arabic:
رَقيق، رَفيع
Chinese (Simplified):
薄的
Chinese (Traditional):
薄的
Czech:
tenký, slabý
Danish:
tynd
Dutch:
dun
Estonian:
õhuke
Finnish:
ohut
French:
mince
German:
dünn
Greek:
λεπτός, ψιλός
Hungarian:
vékony
Icelandic:
þunnur
Indonesian:
tipis
Italian:
sottile
Japanese:
薄い
Korean:
얇은
Latvian:
plāns
Lithuanian:
plonas
Norwegian:
tynn; spinkel
Polish:
cienki
Portuguese (Brazil):
fino
Portuguese (Portugal):
fino
Romanian:
subţire
Russian:
тонкий
Slovak:
tenký
Slovenian:
tenek
Spanish:
fino
Swedish:
tunn
Turkish:
zayıf, ince
thin2[θin]adjective
(of people or animals) not fat Example: She looks thin since her illness.
Arabic:
نَحيل، نَحيف
Chinese (Simplified):
瘦的
Chinese (Traditional):
瘦的
Czech:
hubený
Danish:
tynd; spinkel
Dutch:
mager
Estonian:
kõhn
Finnish:
laiha
French:
mince, maigre
German:
dünn
Greek:
αδύνατος
Hungarian:
sovány
Icelandic:
grannur, mjór
Indonesian:
kurus
Italian:
magro
Japanese:
やせた
Korean:
야윈
Latvian:
tievs; vājš
Lithuanian:
sulysęs, liesas
Norwegian:
tynn, mager
Polish:
chudy
Portuguese (Brazil):
magro
Portuguese (Portugal):
magro
Romanian:
slab
Russian:
худой
Slovak:
chudý
Slovenian:
mršav
Spanish:
delgado
Swedish:
tunn, mager
Turkish:
zayıf
thin3[θin]adjective
(of liquids, mixtures etc) not containing any solid matter; rather lacking in taste; (tasting as if) containing a lot of water or too much water Example: thin soup
Arabic:
قَليل الكَثافَه
Chinese (Simplified):
稀的，淡的
Chinese (Traditional):
稀的，淡的
Czech:
řídký
Danish:
tynd
Dutch:
dun
Estonian:
lahja
Finnish:
laiha
French:
clair, liquide
German:
dünn
Greek:
αραιός
Hungarian:
híg
Icelandic:
þunnur, vatnskenndur
Indonesian:
encer
Italian:
acquoso
Japanese:
水っぽい
Korean:
묽은
Latvian:
šķidrs; plāns
Lithuanian:
skystas
Norwegian:
tynn
Polish:
rzadki
Portuguese (Brazil):
ralo
Portuguese (Portugal):
líquido
Romanian:
apos, diluat
Russian:
жидкий; разбавленный
Slovak:
riedky
Slovenian:
redek
Spanish:
aguado, poco espeso, claro
Swedish:
tunn
Turkish:
sulu, koyu değil
thin4[θin]adjective
not set closely together; not dense or crowded Example: His hair is getting rather thin.
Arabic:
خَفيف، مُتَفَرِّق
Chinese (Simplified):
稀疏的
Chinese (Traditional):
稀疏的
Czech:
prořídlý
Danish:
tynd
Dutch:
dun
Estonian:
hõre
Finnish:
ohut
French:
clairsemé
German:
licht
Greek:
αραιός
Hungarian:
gyér
Icelandic:
þunnur, gisinn
Indonesian:
tipis
Italian:
rado
Japanese:
まばらな
Korean:
성긴
Latvian:
rets; plāns
Lithuanian:
retas
Norwegian:
tynn, glissen
Polish:
rzadki
Portuguese (Brazil):
ralo
Portuguese (Portugal):
fino
Romanian:
rărit
Russian:
редкий
Slovak:
riedky
Slovenian:
redek
Spanish:
ralo, fino, escaso
Swedish:
tunn, gles
Turkish:
seyrek, kalabalık değil
thin5[θin]adjective
not convincing or believable Example: a thin excuse
Arabic:
واهِن، واهٍ
Chinese (Simplified):
难以信服的、浅薄的
Chinese (Traditional):
難以信服的、淺薄的
Czech:
nepřesvědčivý
Danish:
tynd
Dutch:
mager
Estonian:
nõrk, ebausutav
Finnish:
heikko
French:
peu convaincant
German:
fadenscheinig
Greek:
μη πειστικός, μη πιστευτός
Hungarian:
átlátszó
Icelandic:
lélegur
Indonesian:
lemah
Italian:
debole, inconsistente
Japanese:
見えすいた
Korean:
속이 들여다보이는
Latvian:
nepārliecinošs; vājš
Lithuanian:
neįtikinantis, nevykęs
Norwegian:
tynn, dårlig, flau
Polish:
nieprzekonywający
Portuguese (Brazil):
fraco
Portuguese (Portugal):
pouco convincente
Romanian:
neconvingător
Russian:
неубедительный
Slovak:
nepresvedčivý
Slovenian:
prazen
Spanish:
poco convincente
Swedish:
klen
Turkish:
zayıf, sudan
thin[θin]verb
to make or become thin or thinner Example: The crowd thinned after the parade was over.
Arabic:
يَخِف
Chinese (Simplified):
使稀疏
Chinese (Traditional):
使稀疏
Czech:
prořídnout
Danish:
tynde ud
Dutch:
verminderen
Estonian:
hõrendama, hõrenema
Finnish:
harventaa, harventua
French:
(s')éclaircir; (se) disperser
German:
sich lichten
Greek:
αραιώνω
Hungarian:
fogy; szétesik
Icelandic:
þynna(st)
Indonesian:
menipiskan
Italian:
diradarsi; dimagrire
Japanese:
薄くなる
Korean:
얇게하다; 줄어들다, 희박해지다
Latvian:
novājēt; kļūt retākam, *plānākam; (par pūli u.tml.) izklīst
At*ten"u*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attenuated; p. pr. & vb. n. Attenuating.] [L. attenuatus, p. p. of attenuare; ad + tenuare to make thin, tenuis thin. See Thin.]1. To make thin or slender, as by mechanical or chemical action upon inanimate objects, or by the effects of starvation, disease, etc., upon living bodies. 2. To make thin or less consistent; to render less viscid or dense; to rarefy. Specifically: To subtilize, as the humors of the body, or to break them into finer parts. 3. To lessen the amount, force, or value of; to make less complex; to weaken. To undersell our rivals . . . has led the manufacturer to . . . attenuate his processes, in the allotment of tasks, to an extreme point. --I. Taylor. We may reject and reject till we attenuate history into sapless meagerness. --Sir F. Palgrave.
Dance\ (d[.a]ns), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Danced; p. pr. & vb. n. Dancing.] [F. danser, fr. OHG. dans[=o]n to draw; akin to dinsan to draw, Goth. apinsan, and prob. from the same root (meaning to stretch) as E. thin. See Thin.]1. To move with measured steps, or to a musical accompaniment; to go through, either alone or in company with others, with a regulated succession of movements, (commonly) to the sound of music; to trip or leap rhythmically. Jack shall pipe and Gill shall dance. --Wither. Good shepherd, what fair swain is this Which dances with your daughter? --Shak. 2. To move nimbly or merrily; to express pleasure by motion; to caper; to frisk; to skip about. Then, 'tis time to dance off. --Thackeray. More dances my rapt heart Than when I first my wedded mistress saw. --Shak. Shadows in the glassy waters dance. --Byron. Where rivulets dance their wayward round. --Wordsworth. To dance on a rope, or To dance on nothing, to be hanged.
Tempt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tempted; p. pr. & vb. n. Tempting.] [OE. tempten, tenten, from OF. tempter, tenter, F. tenter, fr. L. tentare, temptare, to handle, feel, attack, to try, put to the test, urge, freq. from tendere, tentum, and tensum, to stretch. See Thin, and cf. Attempt, Tend, Taunt, Tent a pavilion, Tent to probe.]1. To put to trial; to prove; to test; to try. God did tempt Abraham. --Gen. xxii. 1. Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God. --Deut. vi. 16. 2. To lead, or endeavor to lead, into evil; to entice to what is wrong; to seduce. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. --James i. 14. 3. To endeavor to persuade; to induce; to invite; to incite; to provoke; to instigate. Tempt not the brave and needy to despair. --Dryden. Nor tempt the wrath of heaven's avenging Sire. --Pope. 4. To endeavor to accomplish or reach; to attempt. Ere leave be given to tempt the nether skies. --Dryden. Syn: To entice; allure; attract; decoy; seduce.
Ten"a*ble\, a. [F. tenable, fr. tenir to hold, L. tenere. See Thin, and cf. Continue, Continent, Entertain, Maintain, Tenant, Tent.] Capable of being held, naintained, or defended, as against an assailant or objector, or againts attempts to take or process; as, a tenable fortress, a tenable argument. If you have hitherto concealed his sight, Let it be tenable in your silence still. --Shak. I would be the last man in the world to give up his cause when it was tenable. --Sir W. Scott.
Tend\, v. i. [F. tendre, L. tendere, tensum and tentum, to stretch, extend, direct one's course, tend; akin to Gr. ? to stretch, Skr. tan. See Thin, and cf. Tend to attend, Contend, Intense, Ostensible, Portent, Tempt, Tender to offer, Tense, a.]1. To move in a certain direction; -- usually with to or towards. Two gentlemen tending towards that sight. --Sir H. Wotton. Thus will this latter, as the former world, Still tend from bad to worse. --Milton. The clouds above me to the white Alps tend. --Byron. 2. To be directed, as to any end, object, or purpose; to aim; to have or give a leaning; to exert activity or influence; to serve as a means; to contribute; as, our petitions, if granted, might tend to our destruction. The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want. --Prov. xxi. 5. The laws of our religion tend to the universal happiness of mankind. --Tillotson.
Ten"der\, a. [Compar. Tenderer; superl. Tenderest.] [F. tendre, L. tener; probably akin to tenuis thin. See Thin.]1. Easily impressed, broken, bruised, or injured; not firm or hard; delicate; as, tender plants; tender flesh; tender fruit. 2. Sensible to impression and pain; easily pained. Our bodies are not naturally more tender than our faces. --L'Estrange. 3. Physically weak; not hardly or able to endure hardship; immature; effeminate. The tender and delicate woman among you. --Deut. xxviii. 56. 4. Susceptible of the softer passions, as love, compassion, kindness; compassionate; pitiful; anxious for another's good; easily excited to pity, forgiveness, or favor; sympathetic. The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. --James v. 11. I am choleric by my nature, and tender by my temper. --Fuller. 5. Exciting kind concern; dear; precious. I love Valentine, Whose life's as tender to me as my soul! --Shak. 6. Careful to save inviolate, or not to injure; -- with of. "Tender of property." --Burke. The civil authority should be tender of the honor of God and religion. --Tillotson. 7. Unwilling to cause pain; gentle; mild. You, that are thus so tender o'er his follies, Will never do him good. --Shak. 8. Adapted to excite feeling or sympathy; expressive of the softer passions; pathetic; as, tender expressions; tender expostulations; a tender strain. 9. Apt to give pain; causing grief or pain; delicate; as, a tender subject. "Things that are tender and unpleasing." --Bacon. 10. (Naut.) Heeling over too easily when under sail; -- said of a vessel. Note: Tender is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, tender-footed, tender-looking, tender-minded, tender-mouthed, and the like. Syn: Delicate; effeminate; soft; sensitive; compassionate; kind; humane; merciful; pitiful.
Thin\, a. [Compar. Thiner; superl. Thinest.] [OE. thinne, thenne, thunne, AS. [thorn]ynne; akin to D. dun, G. d["u]nn, OHG. dunni, Icel. [thorn]unnr, 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. [root]51 & 237. Cf. Attenuate, Dance, Tempt, Tenable, Tend to move, Tenous, Thunder, Tone.]1. 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. 2. Rare; not dense or thick; -- applied to fluids or soft mixtures; as, thin blood; thin broth; thin air. --Shak. In the day, when the air is more thin. --Bacon. Satan, bowing low His gray dissimulation, disappeared, Into thin air diffused. --Milton. 3. 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. Ferrara is very large, but extremely thin of people. --Addison. 4. Not full or well grown; wanting in plumpness. Seven thin ears . . . blasted with the east wind. --Gen. xli. 6. 5. Not stout; slim; slender; lean; gaunt; as, a person becomes thin by disease. 6. Wanting in body or volume; small; feeble; not full. Thin, hollow sounds, and lamentable screams. --Dryden. 7. Slight; small; slender; flimsy; wanting substance or depth or force; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering; as, a thin disguise. My tale is done, for my wit is but thin. --Chaucer. Note: 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. Thin section. See under Section.
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.
Thun"der\, n. [OE. [thorn]under, [thorn]onder, [thorn]oner, AS. [thorn]unor; akin to [thorn]unian to stretch, to thunder, D. donder thunder, G. donner, OHG. donar, Icel. [thorn][=o]rr Thor, L. tonare to thunder, tonitrus thunder, Gr. to`nos a stretching, straining, Skr. tan to stretch. [root]52. See Thin, and cf. Astonish, Detonate, Intone, Thursday, Tone.]1. The sound which follows a flash of lightning; the report of a discharge of atmospheric electricity. 2. The discharge of electricity; a thunderbolt. [Obs.] The revenging gods 'Gainst parricides did all their thunders bend. --Shak. 3. Any loud noise; as, the thunder of cannon. 4. An alarming or statrling threat or denunciation. The thunders of the Vatican could no longer strike into the heart of princes. --Prescott. Thunder pumper. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The croaker (Haploidontus grunniens). (b) The American bittern or stake-driver. Thunder rod, a lightning rod. [R.] Thunder snake. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The chicken, or milk, snake. (b) A small reddish ground snake (Carphophis, or Celuta, am[oe]na) native to the Eastern United States; -- called also worm snake. Thunder tube, a fulgurite. See Fulgurite.
Tone\, n. [F. ton, L. tonus a sound, tone, fr. Gr. ? a stretching, straining, raising of the voice, pitch, accent, measure or meter, in pl., modes or keys differing in pitch; akin to ? to stretch or strain. See Thin, and cf. Monotonous, Thunder, Ton fasion,Tune.]1. Sound, or the character of a sound, or a sound considered as of this or that character; as, a low, high, loud, grave, acute, sweet, or harsh tone. [Harmony divine] smooths her charming tones. --Milton. Tones that with seraph hymns might blend. --Keble. 2. (Rhet.) Accent, or inflection or modulation of the voice, as adapted to express emotion or passion. Eager his tone, and ardent were his eyes. --Dryden. 3. A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm ahd a regular rise and fall of the voice; as, children often read with a tone. 4. (Mus.) (a) A sound considered as to pitch; as, the seven tones of the octave; she has good high tones. (b) The larger kind of interval between contiguous sounds in the diatonic scale, the smaller being called a semitone as, a whole tone too flat; raise it a tone. (c) The peculiar quality of sound in any voice or instrument; as, a rich tone, a reedy tone. (d) A mode or tune or plain chant; as, the Gregorian tones. Note: The use of the word tone, both for a sound and for the interval between two sounds or tones, is confusing, but is common -- almost universal. Note: Nearly every musical sound is composite, consisting of several simultaneous tones having different rates of vibration according to fixed laws, which depend upon the nature of the vibrating body and the mode of excitation. The components (of a composite sound) are called partial tones; that one having the lowest rate of vibration is the fundamental tone, and the other partial tones are called harmonics, or overtones. The vibration ratios of the partial tones composing any sound are expressed by all, or by a part, of the numbers in the series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.; and the quality of any sound (the tone color) is due in part to the presence or absence of overtones as represented in this series, and in part to the greater or less intensity of those present as compared with the fundamental tone and with one another. Resultant tones, combination tones, summation tones, difference tones, Tartini's tones (terms only in part synonymous) are produced by the simultaneous sounding of two or more primary (simple or composite) tones. 5. (Med.) That state of a body, or of any of its organs or parts, in which the animal functions are healthy and performed with due vigor. Note: In this sense, the word is metaphorically applied to character or faculties, intellectual and moral; as, his mind has lost its tone. 6. (Physiol.) Tonicity; as, arterial tone. 7. State of mind; temper; mood. The strange situation I am in and the melancholy state of public affairs, . . . drag the mind down . . . from a philosophical tone or temper, to the drudgery of private and public business. --Bolingbroke. Their tone was dissatisfied, almost menacing. --W. C. Bryant. 8. Tenor; character; spirit; drift; as, the tone of his remarks was commendatory. 9. General or prevailing character or style, as of morals, manners, or sentiment, in reference to a scale of high and low; as, a low tone of morals; a tone of elevated sentiment; a courtly tone of manners. 10. The general effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, together with color in the case of a painting; -- commonly used in a favorable sense; as, this picture has tone. Tone color. (Mus.) see the Note under def. 4, above. Tone syllable, an accented syllable. --M. Stuart.
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Audio Help [thin] Pronunciation Key adjective, thin·ner, thin·nest, adverb, verb, thinned, thin·ning. 
