VOA名师答疑2024--What Does Slender Mean?

What Does Slender Mean?

　　Hi there! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Nirmala about the meaning of the word "slender."

　　Question:

　　Hello Teacher,

　　I'm Nirmala.

　　What does the word "slender" mean?

　　Thank you,

　　Nirmala

　　Answer

　　Thank you for writing to us, Nirmala!

　　As the year starts, many people make new goals. A large number of them center on losing weight. This is a great time for this question! We will talk about the word "slender" and offer some synonyms² to help you compare and understand this word better.

　　Slender

　　The word "slender" is an adjective.

　　The first meaning has to do with body shape. Something slender is small around, especially in comparison to its length. A slender person has no extra fat and little roundness, usually in an appealing way.

　　In other words, slender has a positive connotation when used to describe a person. The word "skinny" on the other hand, suggests an underweight condition that is not appealing.

　　The slender girl could walk through the narrow opening in the fence.

　　Many cultures considered a long, slender neck beautiful.

　　Some synonyms that you can use in place of "slender" include "slim," "lean" and "thin." These words all have a more positive association to them than "skinny." But what separates them from "slender" is the idea that "slender" also includes the association of "graceful³."

　　Slender can also be used to describe non-physical things.

　　The mayoral candidate won by a slender number of votes.

　　In that sentence, slender means small.

　　Spending money is slender just before payday.

　　In that one, it means limited.

　　The slender glass tube was all that protected the rare sample.

　　In that last sentence, slender means small but also suggests a delicate, or easily breakable, quality.

　　Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Nirmala.

　　Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at [email protected].

　　And that's Ask a Teacher.

　　Words in This Story

　　synonym¹ – n. a word that is similar in meaning to another word

　　connotation – n. the feelings or ideas that words give in addition to their meanings

　　sample – n. a part (as a set of individuals chosen from a whole population) used for investigating the whole

　　graceful – n. n form or action: pleasing or attractive in line, proportion, or movement

1 synonym   

n.同义词，换喻词

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• The term 'industrial democracy' is often used as a synonym for worker participation. “工业民主”这个词常被用作“工人参与”的同义词。

2 synonyms   

同义词( synonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语，你必须仔细区分同义词。
• Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。

3 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。