thinner

¹ American  

[thin-er] / ˈθɪn ər /

noun

1. a volatile liquid, as turpentine, used to dilute paint, varnish, rubber cement, etc., to the desired or proper consistency.

2. a person who adds thinners to paints, varnishes, etc.

3. a person who specializes in weeding plants, pruning shrubbery, thinning fruit, etc.

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thinner ² American  

[thin-er] / ˈθɪn ər /

adjective

1. comparative of thin.

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thinner British  

/ ˈθɪnə /

noun

1. (often plural, functioning as singular) a solvent, such as turpentine, added to paint or varnish to dilute it, reduce its opacity or viscosity, or increase its penetration into the ground

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Etymology

Origin of thinner

First recorded in 1825–35; thin + -er ¹

Example Sentences

If Step 3’s pretextual jury-striking analysis can be skipped in practice and insulated on review, Batson’s promise becomes thinner still.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

Persistent weakness in the currency can negatively impact everything, feeding into higher prices for consumers, lower corporate margins, bigger government deficits and thinner capital flows into the stock market.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

This strong slowing effect allows the structure to shrink dramatically while still trapping light efficiently, resulting in a layer more than a thousand times thinner than a human hair.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

He looked thinner than in his prior court appearance, but grinned enthusiastically as he shook his lawyers’ hands.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

We put the lid on the paint, dumped our brushes into a jar of paint thinner Doc had set out, then marched up to the porch.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Related Words

• delicate
• fragile
• gaunt
• lean
• meager
• narrow
• skinny
• slim
• small