Definition of "lithe" in English

adjective

1. (obsolete) Mild; calm.

   • lithe weather

2. Slim but not skinny.

   • lithe body

3. Capable of being easily bent; flexible.

   • the elephant’s lithe trunk.
   • … she danced with a kind of passionate fierceness, her lithe body undulating with flexuous grace …

4. Adaptable.

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To become calm.

2. (transitive, obsolete) To make soft or mild; soften; alleviate; mitigate; lessen; smooth; palliate.

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To attend; listen, hearken.

2. (transitive) To listen to, hearken to.

noun

1. (Scotland) Shelter.

verb

1. (archaic, dialect, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire) to thicken (gravy, etc.)

   • lithe 'to thicken soups, sauces, etc.'