Definition

Noun: 1. A person who lies, sits, or stands in a relaxed, awkward, or ungainly position with limbs spread out: The word describes someone whose typical posture is to occupy a lot of space in a careless or untidy manner, often by extending their arms and legs. 2. A person or thing that spreads out in an irregular or uncontrolled way: This can refer to a person whose movements or growth pattern is sprawling, or metaphorically to something that expands haphazardly.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • My brother is a sprawler; he takes up the entire couch when he watches TV.
  • As a notorious sprawler, she always ends up with most of the blankets during the night.
  • The city was a chaotic sprawler, expanding into the countryside without a clear plan.

Advanced Usage

• Urban/Environmental Context: In discussions about urban development, "sprawler" can critically describe a city or suburb that expands over a large area of land in a low-density, car-dependent, and often inefficient manner.
  • Critics argue that the metropolis has become an unsustainable sprawler, consuming farmland and increasing commute times.

Variants and Related Words

• Sprawl (verb): To sit, lie, or fall with one's arms and legs spread out in an ungainly way; to spread out over a large area in an irregular way.
  • He tends to sprawl across his desk when he's thinking.
  • The city began to sprawl into the neighboring valleys.
• Sprawl (noun): An ungainly or carelessly relaxed position; the disorganized and widespread expansion of an urban or industrial area.
  • She woke up in a sprawl on the floor.
  • The government is trying to control urban sprawl.
• Sprawling (adjective): Spreading out over a large area in an irregular, untidy way.
  • They live in a sprawling mansion on the hill.

Synonyms

• Lounger: A person who reclines or sits in a relaxed manner.
• Sloucher: A person who sits, stands, or moves in a lazy, drooping way.

Noun

1. a person who sprawls
   • he is such a sprawler he needs a bed to himself