Words / C2

LYTH/laɪð/

Lithe means thin, supple, and graceful in movement: a lithe dancer, lithe as a cat. Agile (already in the dictionary) is quick and neat; nimble is of hands and feet. Languid (already in the dictionary) is the slow opposite flavour; graceful is everyday and wider. Do not let a supple keynote staff an empty chair.

Meaning

Thin, supple, and graceful in movement.

Examples

• “A lithe keynote does not excuse an empty invigilator chair.”
• “Agile is quick (already in C1). Graceful is everyday. Languid is unhurried (already in C2) — the contrast. A well-timed talk can be lithe and still honest. A performance that never names the night person is theatre. Fill the rota; then the movement may gleam.”

Good to know

Supple and graceful. Everyday: graceful / supple. Close: agile (already in C1). Contrast: languid (slow — already in C2). Movement ≠ a seated invigilator.

Near in meaning

supple, agile, nimble, graceful

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