svelte adj

1 showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience; "his polished manner"; "maintained an urbane tone in his letters" [syn: polished, refined, urbane]

2 gracefully slender; moving and bending with ease [syn: lissome, lissom, lithe, lithesome, slender, supple, sylphlike]

English

Etymology

From svelto.

Pronunciation

• /ˈsvɛlt/ /"svElt/

Adjective

1. Attractively thin; gracefully slender.

Usage notes

• Used mainly as a compliment, whereas words like thin and skinny could be used in negative connotations.

Synonyms

Italian

Adjective

Svelte may refer to:

• A Svelte Appendix to the Postmodern Question, a paper written by the philosopher Jean-François Lyotard.
• Big Fat Hunka Cheese's Quest Restored Svelte, a children's book promoting weight loss by Sherman Neusom.

airy, attenuate, attenuated, boyish, delicate, diaphanous, diluted, ethereal, fine, fine-drawn, finespun, flimsy, frail, gauzy, girlish, gossamer, gracile, insubstantial, lacy, light, misty, papery, rare, rarefied, slender, slenderish, slight, slight-made, slim, slimmish, slinky, small, subtle, sylphlike, tenuous, thin, thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-spun, thinnish, threadlike, vague, wasp-waisted, watered, watered-down, watery, weak, willowy, wiredrawn, wispy