svelte

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈsvɛlt/, /ˈsfɛlt/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/svɛlt, sfɛlt/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(svelt, sfelt)

Inflections of 'svelte' (adj):
svelter
adj comparative
sveltest
adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
svelte /svɛlt, sfɛlt/USA pronunciation   adj., svelt•er, svelt•est. 
  1. slender, esp. gracefully slender in figure;
    lithe.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
svelte  (svelt, sfelt),USA pronunciation adj., svelt•er, svelt•est. 
  1. slender, esp. gracefully slender in figure;
    lithe.
  2. suave;
    blandly urbane.
  • Vulgar Latin *exvellitus pulled out (replacing Latin ēvulsus, past participle of ēvellere), equivalent. to Latin ex- ex- + velli-, variant stem of vellere to pull, pluck + -tus past participle suffix
  • Italian svelto
  • French
  • 1810–20

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
svelte / svɛlt sfɛlt/
  1. attractively or gracefully slim; slender
Etymology: 19th Century: from French, from Italian svelto, from svellere to pull out, from Latin ēvellere, from ex-1 + vellere to pull
'svelte' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
chubby

Forum discussions with the word(s) "svelte" in the title:


Look up "svelte" at Merriam-Webster
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