thinly
English
Etymology
From Middle English þynnelich (“with thin material; thinly”); equivalent to thin + -ly.[1][2][3]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈθɪnli/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪnli
Adverb
thinly (comparative more thinly, superlative most thinly)
- In a thin, loose, or scattered manner; scantily; not thickly.
- 2012 May 15, Scott Tobias, “Film: Reviews: The Dictator”, in The Onion AV Club[1], archived from the original on 11 July 2012:
- Brüno was a case of diminishing returns, intermittently amusing but not nearly as bracing or funny as Borat—it didn’t help that Brüno was the most thinly conceived of all his Da Ali G Show characters—and the lead-up to Baron Cohen’s new comedy, The Dictator, made it look like he’d boxed himself into a corner.
- 2017 May 23, Gregory Krieg and Will Mullery, “Trump’s budget by the numbers: What gets cut and why”, in CNN[2]:
- “The Budget proposes eliminating Supporting Effective Instruction (SEI) State Grants (Title II State grants), a program that provides formula funds to States to improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other schools leaders. SEI grants are poorly targeted and funds are spread too thinly to have a meaningful impact on student outcomes.
- Barely; hardly; with little attempt to conceal.
- a thinly-veiled attack on my integrity
- a thinly disguised attempt at sabotage
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
not thickly
References
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “thinly”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “thinly”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- ^ “thinnelī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ^ “thinly, adv.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
- ^ G. V. Smithers (1957), Kyng Alisaunder: Introduction, Commentary and Glossary, Early English Text Society, page 206, column 2: “þynnelich adv. thinly”.