Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Tall, thin, and awkward in movement: Describes a person, typically a young one, who is unusually tall and slender, often with limbs that seem disproportionately long, resulting in an appearance or manner of moving that lacks grace or coordination.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The gangling teenager struggled to fit into the small desk. (The tall, thin, and awkward teenager struggled to fit into the small desk.)
  • He was a gangling youth with knees and elbows that seemed to be everywhere. (He was a tall, thin, and awkward youth with knees and elbows that seemed to be everywhere.)

Advanced Usage

• Descriptive of growth phases: Often used to describe the physical appearance of adolescents during a growth spurt, where height increases faster than coordination.
  • Her gangling frame was a temporary phase before she grew into her height. (Her tall, thin, and awkward frame was a temporary phase before she grew into her height.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gangly (adj): A variant form with the same meaning as "gangling."
  • The puppy was all gangly legs and big paws. (The puppy was all long, thin legs and big paws.)
• Lanky (adj): Very similar in meaning, describing someone tall, thin, and often loose-jointed.
  • The basketball player had a lanky build. (The basketball player had a tall and thin build.)

Synonyms

• Rangy: Tall and slender in build.
• Spindly: Long or tall and thin, often suggesting weakness.
• Angular: Having sharp angles or corners; used to describe a thin, bony physique.

Antonyms

• Stocky: Broad, solid, and relatively short in build.
• Sturdy: Strongly and solidly built.
• Compact: Small and solidly built.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• All arms and legs: An informal idiom describing someone who is gangling.
  • At fourteen, he was all arms and legs, constantly bumping into things. (At fourteen, he was tall, thin, and awkward, constantly bumping into things.)

Adjective

1. tall and thin
2. tall and thin and having long slender limbs
   • a gangling teenager
   • a lanky kid transformed almost overnight into a handsome young man