Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Resembling a spider in appearance or characteristics: Having the thin, long, delicate, or sprawling form associated with a spider or its web.
   • Thin and angular, like a spider's legs: Used to describe handwriting, lines, or patterns that are fine, intricate, and spread out.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The old man's spidery handwriting was difficult to read. (His writing was thin, shaky, and sprawling.)
  • A spidery network of cracks covered the ancient vase. (The cracks were fine and branching, resembling a spider's web.)
  • The tree's spidery branches were silhouetted against the moon. (The branches were thin and spread out like a spider's legs.)

Advanced Usage

• "spidery fingers": long, thin, and delicate fingers.
  • The pianist had long, spidery fingers that danced across the keys.
• "spidery script": a style of handwriting characterized by thin, elaborate, and often hard-to-read letters.
  • The historical document was written in a beautiful but spidery script.

Variants and Related Words

• Spiderlike (adj): Having the form or qualities of a spider. (This is a direct synonym and variant.)
  • The robot had a spiderlike design with multiple thin legs.

Synonyms

• Arachnoid: Relating to or resembling spiders or arachnids. (More scientific.)
• Gracile: Slender and thin. (Emphasizes delicacy.)
• Filigree: Ornamental work of fine, intricate detail. (Emphasizes intricacy, often in metalwork or design.)

Related Phrases

• "a spidery scrawl": handwriting that is thin, irregular, and sprawling.
  • He quickly jotted down a spidery scrawl that only he could decipher.

Adjective

1. relating to or resembling a member of the class Arachnida