wispy

IPA/ˈwɪspi/
KK[wˈɪspi]IPA/ˈwɪspi/

wispy — adjective

  • wispypositive
  • wispiercomparative
  • wispiestsuperlative

1. made of very thin, light strands or pieces, so it looks soft, slight, and not th

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

made of very thin, light strands or pieces, so it looks soft, slight, and not thick.

Example

After the haircut, Nora's fringe looked soft and wispy around her face.

predicative use: look wispy around the face

Wispy clouds drifted above the mountain just before sunset.

wispy + clouds for thin, feathery shape

Common collocations
  • wispy hair
  • wispy clouds
  • wispy smoke
  • wispy beard
  • wispy grass
  • wispy fringe
Synonyms
  • thin

    the broad everyday word; it does not specifically suggest soft strands or drifting lines

  • feathery

    suggests a softer, lighter, more decorative look

  • straggly

    more negative; suggests hair or plants look untidy and uneven

  • gossamer

    more literary and delicate, often used for mist, fabric, or spider silk

Antonyms
  • thick

    describes something broad or full rather than fine and slight

  • dense

    emphasizes a heavy, crowded appearance rather than thin strands

Grammar Patterns

wispy + noun (wispy hair, wispy cloud, wispy smoke)

Usage Note

Usually describes hair, smoke, clouds, grass, beards, and similar things that appear in fine strands or thin drifting lines. It suggests a light, slightly see-through look rather than simple small size.

Common Mistakes

The box was wispy and hard to carry.
The box was flimsy and hard to carry.
Wispy describes thin strands or drifting lines, not the strength of a solid object.
She has wispy, thick hair.
She has wispy, thin hair.
Wispy suggests fine, light strands, so it clashes with 'thick' in the same description.

Word family

  • wisp
    nounB2
  • wispiness
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These words all suggest something slight, but they create different pictures. Thin is the broad everyday word and can describe almost anything with little width or depth. Wispy is narrower: it is used for things that appear in fine, light strands or faint drifting lines, such as wispy hair, wispy smoke, or wispy clouds. Feathery adds a softer, prettier image, often suggesting something floating or gently layered. Straggly is more negative and is used when hair or plants look messy, uneven, or poorly kept. Gossamer is literary and even more delicate, often used for mist, fabric, or spider silk rather than ordinary hair. You can say wispy bangs, but straggly bangs sound untidy and gossamer bangs sound unnatural.

wispy ↗thin ↗featherystraggly ↗gossamer ↗

Etymology

GermanicMiddle EnglishEnglish

Wispy comes from the noun 'wisp' plus the adjective suffix '-y'. A wisp is a thin curl or strand of smoke, cloud, hair, or grass, so wispy literally means 'having the look of wisps'. From that basic picture, the word came to describe things that appear in fine, light strands rather than in a thick or solid mass.