EN

Synonyms for lean

77 synonyms
4 antonyms
6 meanings

adjective
verb
noun

Most common

slim skinny slender emaciated scarce jejune efficient dilute

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Slender — slim; not fleshy

slender, skinny, slim, slight, bony, emaciated, haggard, lanky informal, scrawny, lithe, wiry, svelte, rangy, spindly, angular, gangly, willowy, skeletal, wizened, twiggy, pinched, scraggy

2. Spare — having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre

spare, poor, skimpy, scanty, mean, meager US CA, meagre UK, scant, bare, sparse, dull, insufficient, unproductive, inadequate, deficient, barren, scarce, paltry, jejune, exiguous, prosy

Other

thin, efficient, shriveled US, shrunken, dilute

Verb

1. Slant

slant, tip, angle, slope

2. Tend

tend, incline, run

3. Rely

rest, rely, rely on, depend, recline

Other

heel, bend, careen, decline, verge, list, disenrich, derich rare

Noun

1. Tilt

tilt, sway, inclination

Other

hunch, snot, syrup, blood slang US, purple drank slang, mud slang US, sizzurp slang

Antonyms

rich, engine-rich, thick

All antonyms of lean →

Definitions

adj. 1
Slim; not fleshy.
adj. 2
Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.
v. 1
To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
She leaned out of the window.
n. 1
An inclination away from the vertical.
The trees had various leans toward gaps in the canopy.

Related words

Word family: leaning lean-to leanness
Phrases: lean on lean over backwards lean client fenty lean

Forms

Plural: leans → tilts, sways, inclinations, hunches…
Past participle: leant
e.g. leant → slanted, tipped, angled, sloped…

Example sentences

slim The chance that Tom will be executed is very slim.
skinny Tom and Mary were very skinny when they were kids.
slender Her sister Joanna was bright and slender as a lily.
emaciated The men weren't just skinny. They were emaciated.
scarce When goods are scarce, sellers have the advantage.
jejune They all hold jejune worldviews.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
lean		rising
slim		rising
skinny		rising
slender		steady
emaciated		rising
scarce		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: run¹, tip¹, mud¹
4 letters: mean¹, list¹, rest¹, poor¹, tend¹, thin¹, rely², bare¹, bend¹, slim¹, dull¹, heel¹, tilt¹, sway¹
5 letters: blood¹, angle², spare¹, slope¹, syrup², verge¹, slant¹, scant¹, hunch¹, lanky², lithe¹, rangy², prosy
6 letters: slight¹, depend², skinny², scarce¹, sparse¹, barren², dilute², meager², meagre, paltry², skimpy², twiggy², scanty², svelte¹
7 letters: decline², slender², angular³, pinched¹, incline², haggard², scrawny², recline², spindly, wizened², willowy³, scraggy, sizzurp
8 letters: skeletal³, shrunken², exiguous
9 letters: efficient³, deficient³, emaciated⁵, shriveled², disenrich
10 letters: inadequate⁴
11 letters: inclination⁴
12 letters: insufficient⁴, unproductive⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (rely² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: maigre
Italiano: magro
Español: magro
Deutsch: mager
Català: magre