Definition

Adjective: 1. Lacking clarity or distinctness; faint, vague, or shadowy: Describes something that is difficult to see, hear, or remember clearly. 2. Thin, delicate, and weak in form or substance: Describes something or someone that is slender, fragile, or insubstantial.

Usage Examples

• Describing something faint or vague:
  • The fog lifted to reveal only the wispy outline of the mountains.
  • She had only wispy memories of her grandmother's house.
• Describing something thin and delicate:
  • The model had long, wispy hair that floated around her face.
  • A few wispy clouds drifted across the blue sky.

Advanced Usage

• "Wispy" can be used metaphorically to describe intangible things like thoughts, sounds, or evidence that are barely perceptible or insubstantial.
  • His argument was supported by nothing more than wispy conjectures.
  • A wispy melody from an old song drifted through the open window.

Variants and Related Words

• Wisp (noun): A small, thin, or delicate bunch, strand, or fragment.
  • A wisp of smoke rose from the chimney.
  • She brushed away a wisp of hair.
• Wispily (adverb): In a wispy manner.
  • The smoke curled wispily upward.

Synonyms

• Faint: Barely perceptible.
• Vague: Unclear or indefinite.
• Filmy: Thin and translucent.
• Gossamer: Very light, thin, and insubstantial.
• Ethereal: Extremely delicate and light.

Antonyms

• Distinct: Clear and definite.
• Solid: Firm and substantial.
• Thick: Not thin; dense.

Adjective

1. lacking clarity or distinctness
   • a dim figure in the distance
   • only a faint recollection
   • shadowy figures in the gloom
   • saw a vague outline of a building through the fog
   • a few wispy memories of childhood
2. thin and weak
   • a wispy little fellow with small hands and feet- Edmund Wilson