lithe
/lʌɪð
/adjective
(Especially of a person’s body) thin, supple, and graceful: she lay gazing up at his tall, lithe figure...
- She could feel the strength his lithe body possessed, even wounded and laying on a table.
- For the inaugural event, the dancers' lithe bodies were swathed in white.
- Hung on a stark frame, it was a mould of her long, lithe body.
Synonyms
agile, graceful, supple, limber, loose-limbed, nimble, deft, spry, flexible, pliant, pliable, lissom, willowy, acrobatic, fit
rare lithesome
Derivatives
lithely
/ adverb ...- Her slender, yet fully curved figure captured everyone's eyes and imagination as she walked by gracefully and lithely with the raw sensuality and toughness of a tiger.
- The city seems awash with lithely fit people, slinging gym bags over their muscular shoulders as they stride purposefully towards the nearest health-club.
- The same could be said of an energetic and lithely crafted ‘Don Juan’ that is also quite memorable in the astonishing early stereo sound.
litheness
/ noun ...- They would sooner have the bulk than the litheness and agility.
- With this revival came a concomitant revival of the corporeal values associated with gymnastics: upper body strength, musculature, elasticity, litheness, flexibility, poise, and equilibrium.
- He moves around opponents with a litheness and grace unexpected in most prizefighters, let alone movie stars.
Origin
Old English līthe 'gentle, meek' also 'mellow', of Germanic origin; related to German lind 'soft, gentle'.