Illustration of tendril
- tendril 1
tendril
noun
ten·dril ˈten-drəl 
1
: a leaf, stipule, or stem modified into a slender spirally coiling sensitive organ serving to attach a climbing plant to its support
2
: something suggestive of a tendril
creeping tendrils of fog
tendriled adjective
or tendrilled
ˈten-drəld
tendrilous
ˈten-drə-ləs
adjective 
Example Sentences
A few tendrils of hair framed her face.
Recent Examples on the Web No one knows exactly when, but from the vast expanse of tropical air around the Equator, atmospheric currents will pluck out a long tendril of water vapor and funnel it toward the West Coast. 
New York Times, 12 Aug. 2022 Each cosmic red tendril and teal plume has a matching pyro pellet within the firework shell. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 30 June 2022 Kylie wore her hair in an updo with a side part and left one long face-framing tendril. Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 16 May 2022 One tendril of hair was left out to frame her face. Gabi Thorne, Allure, 16 May 2022 And there’s hardly reason to think Cuellar would be the last tendril of Azerbaijan’s broader campaigns. Casey Michel, The New Republic, 26 Jan. 2022 That Benaim, who also wrote the screenplay, chooses to end his film here, in a moment of sudden violence that is a darkly cathartic culmination for both characters, is poignant in offering the slenderest, faintest tendril of optimism. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 21 Dec. 2021 Back in Shepherd’s basement, Mike Gunton has the first edited clip of the dodder’s attack—a long, thin tendril circling the nettle before sending out probes, which pierce the stem and suck the life out of the plant. Stephen Armstrong, Wired, 2 Dec. 2021 One large whirl captured by an infrared camera shows a thin tendril snaking high above the rest of the flames. Lila Seidman, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2021 See More
New York Times, 12 Aug. 2022 Each cosmic red tendril and teal plume has a matching pyro pellet within the firework shell. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 30 June 2022 Kylie wore her hair in an updo with a side part and left one long face-framing tendril. Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 16 May 2022 One tendril of hair was left out to frame her face. Gabi Thorne, Allure, 16 May 2022 And there’s hardly reason to think Cuellar would be the last tendril of Azerbaijan’s broader campaigns. Casey Michel, The New Republic, 26 Jan. 2022 That Benaim, who also wrote the screenplay, chooses to end his film here, in a moment of sudden violence that is a darkly cathartic culmination for both characters, is poignant in offering the slenderest, faintest tendril of optimism. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 21 Dec. 2021 Back in Shepherd’s basement, Mike Gunton has the first edited clip of the dodder’s attack—a long, thin tendril circling the nettle before sending out probes, which pierce the stem and suck the life out of the plant. Stephen Armstrong, Wired, 2 Dec. 2021 One large whirl captured by an infrared camera shows a thin tendril snaking high above the rest of the flames. Lila Seidman, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
probably modification of Middle French tendron bud, cartilage, alteration of Old French tenrum, from Vulgar Latin *tenerumen, from Latin tener tender — more at tender entry 1
First Known Use
1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
tendril
noun
ten·dril ˈten-drəl
1
: a slender leafless winding stem by which some climbing plants attach themselves to a support
2
: something that winds like a plant's tendril
tendrils of hair