thin

/θɪn/

/θɪn/

Other forms: thinned; thinning; thinnest; thins

Something thin is narrow or not very thick. If you wear thin socks on a cold winter day, your toes might start to feel numb.

Thin can describe something that is narrow and slender, like a hair or a thread. It can also describe a layer of something that is not very thick, such as paper. To thin something out is to make it lesser or weaker, like thinning out a sauce by adding water. You can also use this word figuratively. An argument that is not very convincing is thin.

Definitions of thin
  1. adjective
    of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section
    “thin wire”
    “a thin chiffon blouse”
    “a thin book”
    “a thin layer of paint”
    Synonyms:
    lean
    lacking excess flesh
    bladed
    composed of thin flat plates resembling a knife blade
    capillary, hairlike
    long and slender with a very small internal diameter
    compressed, flat
    flattened laterally along the whole length (e.g., certain leafstalks or flatfishes)
    depressed
    flattened downward as if pressed from above or flattened along the dorsal and ventral surfaces
    cobwebby, diaphanous, filmy, gauze-like, gauzy, gossamer, see-through, sheer, transparent, vaporous, vapourous
    so thin as to transmit light
    filamentlike, filamentous, filiform, threadlike, thready
    thin in diameter; resembling a thread
    fine
    thin in thickness or diameter
    light
    very thin and insubstantial
    hyperfine
    extremely fine or thin, as in a spectral line split into two or more components
    paper thin
    thin as paper
    papery
    thin and paperlike
    ribbonlike, ribbony
    long and thin; resembling a ribbon
    sleazy
    of cloth; thin and loosely woven
    slender
    having little width in proportion to the length or height
    tenuous
    very thin in gauge or diameter
    wafer-thin
    very thin
    narrow
    not wide
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    thick
    not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
    fat
    having an (over)abundance of flesh
    deep
    relatively thick from top to bottom
    deep-chested
    thick in the chest
    fat
    having a relatively large diameter
    four-ply
    having a thickness made up of four layers or strands
    heavy
    made of fabric having considerable thickness
    heavy
    of relatively large extent and density
    quilted
    made of layers of fabric held together by patterned stitching
    thickened
    made or having become thick
    three-ply
    having a thickness made up of three layers or strands
    two-ply
    having a thickness made up of two layers or strands
    broad, wide
    having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
    show more antonyms...
  2. adjective
    very narrow
    “a thin line across the page”
    synonyms: slender
    narrow
    not wide
  3. verb
    lose thickness; become thin or thinner
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    inspissate, thicken
    become thick or thicker
    inspissate, thicken
    make thick or thicker
    show more antonyms...
    type of:
    change state, turn
    undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
  4. verb
    make thin or thinner
    “Thin the solution”
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    inspissate, thicken
    make thick or thicker
    inspissate, thicken
    become thick or thicker
    show more antonyms...
    types:
    draw
    reduce the diameter of (a wire or metal rod) by pulling it through a die
    type of:
    bring down, cut, cut back, cut down, reduce, trim, trim back, trim down
    cut down on; make a reduction in
  5. adjective
    lacking excess flesh
    synonyms: lean
    ectomorphic
    having a build with little fat or muscle but with long limbs
    anorectic, anorexic
    suffering from anorexia nervosa; pathologically thin
    bony, cadaverous, emaciated, gaunt, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted
    very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
    deep-eyed, hollow-eyed, sunken-eyed
    characteristic of the bony face of a cadaver
    gangling, gangly, lanky
    tall and thin
    lank, spindly
    long and lean
    rawboned
    having a lean and bony physique
    reedlike, reedy
    resembling a reed in being upright and slender
    twiggy, twiglike
    thin as a twig
    scarecrowish
    resembling a scarecrow in being thin and ragged
    boney, scraggy, scrawny, skinny, underweight, weedy
    being very thin
    shriveled, shrivelled, shrunken, withered, wizen, wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    slender, slight, slim, svelte
    being of delicate or slender build
    slender-waisted, slim-waisted, wasp-waisted
    having a small waist
    spare, trim
    thin and fit
    spindle-legged, spindle-shanked
    having long slender legs
    stringy, wiry
    lean and sinewy
    wisplike, wispy
    thin and weak
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    fat
    having an (over)abundance of flesh
    endomorphic, pyknic
    having a squat and fleshy build
    abdominous, paunchy, potbellied
    having a large belly
    blubbery
    swollen with fat
    chubby, embonpoint, plump
    sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
    buxom, zaftig, zoftig
    (of a female body) healthily plump and vigorous
    corpulent, obese, rotund, weighty
    excessively large
    double-chinned, jowly, loose-jowled
    having sagging folds of flesh beneath the chin or lower jaw
    dumpy, podgy, pudgy, roly-poly, tubby
    short and plump
    fattish
    somewhat fat
    fleshy, heavy, overweight
    usually describes a large person who is fat but has a large frame to carry it
    gross, porcine
    repellently fat
    portly, stout
    fairly large; euphemism for 'fat'
    rounded
    curving and somewhat round in shape rather than jagged
    thick
    not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
    show more antonyms...
  6. verb
    take off weight
    synonyms: lose weight, melt off, reduce, slenderize, slim, slim down
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    gain, put on
    increase (one's body weight)
    types:
    sweat off
    lose weight by sweating
    type of:
    change state, turn
    undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
  7. adjective
    not dense
    “a thin beard”
    synonyms: sparse
    distributed
    spread out or scattered about or divided up
  8. adjective
    (of sound) lacking resonance or volume
    “a thin feeble cry”
    Synonyms:
    pale
    not full or rich
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    full
    (of sound) having marked deepness and body
    booming, stentorian
    having a loud and deep sound
    grumbling, rumbling
    continuous full and low-pitched throbbing sound
    plangent
    loud and resounding
    rich
    pleasantly full and mellow
    orotund, pear-shaped, rotund, round
    (of sounds) full and rich
    heavy, sonorous
    full and loud and deep
    sounding
    having volume or deepness
    show more antonyms...
  9. adjective
    relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous
    “air is thin at high altitudes”
    “a thin soup”
    “thin oil”
    Synonyms:
    tenuous
    having thin consistency
    rare, rarefied, rarified
    having low density
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    thick
    relatively dense in consistency
    clogged, clotted
    thickened or coalesced in soft thick lumps (such as clogs or clots)
    coagulable
    capable of coagulating and becoming thick
    coagulate, coagulated, curdled, grumose, grumous
    transformed from a liquid into a soft semisolid or solid mass
    creamy
    thick like cream
    dense, heavy, impenetrable
    permitting little if any light to pass through because of denseness of matter
    gelatinlike, gelatinous, jellylike
    thick like gelatin
    ropey, ropy, stringy, thready
    forming viscous or glutinous threads
    soupy
    having the consistency and appearance of soup
    syrupy, viscous
    having a relatively high resistance to flow
    thickened
    made thick in consistency
    show more antonyms...
  10. verb
    lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture
    synonyms: cut, dilute, reduce, thin out
    see moresee less
    types:
    water down
    make less strong or intense
    type of:
    weaken
    lessen the strength of
  11. adverb
    without viscosity
    “the blood was flowing thin”
    synonyms: thinly
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    thick, thickly
    with a thick consistency
  12. adjective
    lacking spirit or sincere effort
    “a thin smile”
    Synonyms:
    spiritless
    lacking ardor or vigor or energy
  13. adjective
    lacking substance or significance
    “a thin plot”
    synonyms: flimsy, fragile, slight, tenuous
    insignificant, unimportant
    devoid of importance, meaning, or force
Pronunciation
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/θɪn/
UK

/θɪn/
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On the ACT Reading Test, you'll encounter questions that ask you to determine the meanings of common words in context. We've identified 200 high-frequency, multiple-meaning words of the sort that you'll see on the exam. As you practice this list, you'll have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in a particular sentence. Be careful! Several of a word's meanings might show up as answer choices — but only one answer will capture the meaning of the word in the context of the sentence.

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