# thinly

**Pronunciation:** /ˈθɪnli/ · THIN-lee

**CEFR level:** B2

**Part of speech:** adverb

## Meaning 1: Physical Description

In a way that is not thick, dense, or abundant; with little substance or coverage.

## Examples

- The ice on the pond was too thinly spread to support any weight.
- She applied the paint thinly to create a translucent effect on the canvas.
- The forest was thinly populated with trees, allowing much sunlight to reach the ground.

## Meaning 2: Figurative

With little justification, credibility, or depth; barely concealed.

## Examples

- His excuse for being late was thinly veiled and nobody believed him.
- The criticism was thinly disguised as constructive feedback.
- She smiled thinly, showing her displeasure despite her polite words.

## Synonyms

- sparsely — Spread out over a large area; not dense.
- lightly — With little weight or pressure; not heavily.
- finely — Into very small particles or thin pieces; with precision.
- scantily — In a small or insufficient amount; barely.

## Antonyms

- thickly — In a dense or abundant manner.
- densely — Closely packed together; in great quantity.

## Common patterns

- thinly sliced — Cut into very narrow pieces. — For the sandwich, we need thinly sliced ham.
- thinly spread — Distributed over a large area or among many people/things, often implying insufficiency. — The police force was thinly spread across the entire city during the protest.
- thinly veiled — Barely hidden or disguised. — Her compliment was a thinly veiled insult.
- thinly populated — Having few people living in an area. — The northern regions are very thinly populated.

## Collocations

- thinly sliced — The recipe called for thinly sliced potatoes to make a gratin.
- thinly spread — Their resources were thinly spread across too many projects.
- thinly veiled — The politician's speech contained a thinly veiled attack on his opponent.

Canonical URL: https://anaversity.com/dictionary/english/thinly

[Browse the English learner dictionary](https://anaversity.com/dictionary/english)