paper-thin

adjective

Very thin, such as the quality of paper.

Similar
paper-thickrazor-thin
OriginEnglish thin ← Middle English thinne /thenne /thünne ← Old English þynne →
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Meanings

adjectivepaper-thin (not comparable)
  1. literallynot comparableVery thin, such as the quality of paper.

    Synonyms: paper-thick, razor-thin

  2. figurativelynot comparableInsubstantial.

    As late as 1948 NKP, for its part, pitted its Berkshires against borrowed road diesels and declared that the difference in costs was less than paper thin.

    1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 41

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveVery thin, such as the quality of paper.

Similar
paper-thickrazor-thin
Also see
razor-thin

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekπάπυρος (pápuros)
  2. Latinpapȳrus
  3. Old Catalanpaper
  4. Anglo-Normanpaper
  5. Middle Englishpaper
  6. Englishpaper
  7. Proto-West Germanic*þunnī
  8. Old Englishþynne
  9. Middle Englishthinne /thenne /thünne
  10. Englishthin
  11. Englishpaper-thin

From paper + thin.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish paperinohut
  • paperinohutvery thin
Hungarian papírvékony
  • papírvékonyvery thin
Malay nipis macam kertas
  • nipis macam kertasvery thin
Polish cieniutki
  • cieniutkivery thin
Cite this entry
APA

paper-thin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paper-thin

MLA

“paper-thin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paper-thin. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paper-thin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paper-thin.

Source: paper-thin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.