Meanings
plural thinnesses
- uncountableusuallyThe state or quality of being thin.
Beyond celebrating the aesthetic value of thinness, pro-anas claim that thinness is a reflection of excellence in other areas of one's life.
2004 October 27, Eda R. Uca, Ana's Girls: The Essential Guide to the Underground Eating Disorder Community Online, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 691 more example
The beautiful prismatic colours seen on the Labrodore stone are owing to a similar cause, viz. the thinness of the laminæ of which it consists […].
1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 120
Synonyms & antonyms
nounrelatively small dimension through an object as opposed to its length or width
nounthe property of being scanty or scattered; lacking denseness
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishþynnes“thinness, slightness of density, lack of density, tenuity, fluidity, poverty, feebleness of sight, weakness”
- Middle Englishthynnesse
- Englishthinness
From Middle English thynnesse, from Old English þynnes (“thinness, slightness of density, lack of density, tenuity, fluidity, poverty, feebleness of sight, weakness”), equivalent to thin + -ness.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek λεπτότης, ἰσχνότης
- λεπτότης (leptótēs)the state of being thin
- ἰσχνότης (iskhnótēs)the state of being thin
Arabic رِقَّة
- رِقَّة (riqqa)the state of being thin
Dutch dunheid
- dunheidthe state of being thin
Esperanto subtilaĵo, subtileco
- subtilaĵothe state of being thin
- subtilecothe state of being thin
Finnish ohuus, laihuus
- ohuusthe state of being thin
- laihuusthe state of being thin
French finesse
- finessethe state of being thin
German Dünnheit
- Dünnheitthe state of being thin
Hindi पतलापन, दुबलापन
- पतलापन (patlāpan)the state of being thin
- दुबलापन (dublāpan)the state of being thin
Irish caoile
- caoilethe state of being thin
Latin macritūdō, gracilitās
- macritūdōthe state of being thin
- gracilitāsthe state of being thin
Polish chudość
- chudośćthe state of being thin
Portuguese fineza, magreza
- finezathe state of being thin
- magrezathe state of being thin
- delgadezathe state of being thin
Russian то́нкость
- то́нкость (tónkostʹ)the state of being thin
Spanish delgadez, flaqueza
- delgadezthe state of being thin
- flaquezathe state of being thin
- flacurathe state of being thin
Cite this entry
thinness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinness
“thinness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thinness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinness.
Source: thinness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.