flimsy

Meaning

Adj

1. Likely to bend or break under pressure; easily damaged; frail, unsubstantial.
2. Likely to bend or break under pressure; easily damaged; frail, unsubstantial.
3. (figuratively) Of an argument, explanation, etc.: ill-founded, unconvincing, weak; also, unimportant; paltry, trivial.
4. (figuratively) Of a person: lacking depth of character or understanding; frivolous, superficial.
5. (figuratively, obsolete) Of a person, their physical makeup, or their health: delicate, frail.

Noun

1. (countable, dated, historical, uncountable) A thing which is ill-founded, unconvincing, or weak.
2. (also, attributive, dated, historical, uncountable) Thin typing paper used together with carbon paper in a typewriter to make multiple copies of a document; (countable) a sheet of such paper.
3. (broadly, countable, dated, historical, slang) A document printed or typed on such paper.
4. (broadly, countable, dated, historical, slang) A document printed or typed on such paper.
5. (broadly, dated, historical, uncountable) A document printed or typed on such paper.
6. (UK, countable, dated, historical, slang, uncountable) A hexahedral metal container with a capacity of four imperial gallons (about 18 litres) used by the British Army during World War II to hold fuel.

Verb

1. (dated, historical, transitive) To make (something) likely to be easily damaged.
2. (dated, historical, transitive) To type or write (text) on a flimsy (“sheet of thin typing paper used together with carbon paper in a typewriter to make multiple copies of a document”) (noun sense 2).
3. (dated, figuratively, historical, transitive) To treat (someone or something) as paltry or unimportant; to demean, to underestimate.

Opposite of

robust, strong, sturdy, unflimsy, well-founded, substantiated, serious, thoughtful

Synonyms

thin

frail

fragile

slight

unconvincing

tenuous

weak

brittle

insubstantial

feeble

slender

fine

rickety

delicate

limp

skinny

sleazy

lame

slimsy

onionskin

gauzy

gossamery

refined

sappy

sensitive

shaky

sketchy

slim

soft

softy

subtile

subtle

svelte

tactful

tall

ticklish

tottering

trivial

twiggy

unbelievable

underdog

underfed

unstable

unsubstantial

wan

washy

waspish

wispy

doddery

easily broken

Translations

schwach

léger

débil

sottile

labile

frêle

fragile

carta velina

tendre

fraile

hauchdünn

schwache

délicat

αδύναμος

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈflɪmzi/

Etymology

The origin of the adjective is uncertain; it is possibly from flim(-flam) (“(noun) false information presented as true, misinformation, nonsense; poor attempt at deception, confidence trick, pretence; (adjective) frivolous, nonsensical; deceptive; fictitious”) or a metathesis of film (“thin layer of a substance; slender thread”) + -sy (suffix forming adjectives and nouns).
The noun and verb are derived from the noun. Noun sense 4 (“metal container”) refers to the fact that the containers often split along their seams and leaked.