Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Slender and graceful in build or figure: Describes a person, typically a woman, who is attractively thin and elegant.
   • Polished and sophisticated: Describes a manner, style, or appearance that is sleek, refined, and effortlessly elegant.

Usage Examples

• Describing physical build:
  • The model had a svelte figure that suited the haute couture dresses perfectly.
  • After months of training, he achieved a more svelte physique.
• Describing style or manner:
  • She moved through the crowded room with svelte grace.
  • The car's svelte design made it look both fast and luxurious.

Advanced Usage

• Comparative and Superlative Forms: "svelter," "sveltest."
  • Of all the dancers, she was the sveltest.
• Used figuratively to describe objects:
  • The company unveiled its new, svelte smartphone, which was remarkably thin and light.
  • The software update promises a svelter, more efficient user interface.

Variants and Related Words

• Sveltely (adverb): In a slender or gracefully refined manner.
  • She sveltely navigated the obstacle course.
• Svelteness (noun): The quality of being svelte.
  • The svelteness of the architecture was striking.

Synonyms

• Slender: Thin in an attractive way.
• Slim: Gracefully thin.
• Lithe: Thin, supple, and graceful.
• Urbane: Showing refined elegance, especially in manner (for the non-physical sense).
• Polished: Elegant and sophisticated.

Antonyms

• Stocky: Broad and sturdily built.
• Portly: Rather fat.
• Uncouth: Lacking good manners, refinement, or grace (for the non-physical sense).
• Clumsy: Awkward in movement or shape.

Related Idioms and Phrases

(Note: "Svelte" itself is not commonly used in fixed idioms. Its meaning is typically expressed directly.) - To have a svelte silhouette: To have a thin, well-defined outline or shape. - The dress was designed to give the wearer a svelte silhouette.

Adjective

1. being of delicate or slender build
   • she was slender as a willow shoot is slender- Frank Norris
   • a slim girl with straight blonde hair
   • watched her slight figure cross the street
2. moving and bending with ease
3. showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience
   • his polished manner
   • maintained an urbane tone in his letters