flimsily

UK: /ˈflɪmzɪlɪ/ US: /ˈflɪmzəli/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

flim•sy /ˈflɪmzi/   adj., -si•er, -si•est. 

1. without material strength or solidity:
   a flimsy fabric.
2. inadequate; not convincing:
   a flimsy excuse.

flim•si•ly /ˈflɪmzəli/  adv. 
flim•si•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

flim•sy  (flim′zē), adj., -si•er, -si•est, n., pl. -sies. 
adj. 

1. without material strength or solidity:
   a flimsy fabric; a flimsy structure.
2. weak;
   inadequate;
   not effective or convincing:
   a flimsy excuse.

n. 

3. a thin kind of paper, esp. for use in making several copies at a time of an article, telegraphic dispatch, or the like, as in newspaper work.
4. a copy of a report or dispatch on such paper.

• flim- (perh. metathetic variant of film) + -sy 1695–1705

flim′si•ly, adv. 
flim′si•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. shoddy, weak, unstable, unsteady.
• 2. unconvincing, lame, vague.

Antonyms

• 1. sturdy.