Added 9 October 2026
flimsy
/ˈflɪmzi/ adjective
In Latin: fragilis Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about flimsy at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Likely to bend or break under pressure; easily damaged; frail, unsubstantial. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
He expected the flimsy structure to collapse at any moment.
- Of clothing: very light and thin.
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Of an argument, explanation, etc.: ill-founded, unconvincing, weak; also, unimportant; paltry, trivial.
a flimsy excuse
noun
- A thing which is ill-founded, unconvincing, or weak.
- Thin typing paper used together with carbon paper in a typewriter to make multiple copies of a document; a sheet of such paper.
- A document printed or typed on such paper. A service certificate. A banknote; paper money. The text to be set into pages of magazines, newspapers, etc.; copy.
verb
- To make (something) likely to be easily damaged.
- To type or write (text) on a flimsy (“sheet of thin typing paper used together with carbon paper in a typewriter to make multiple copies of a document”) (noun sense 2); to distribute such flimsies.
- To treat (someone or something) as paltry or unimportant; to demean, to underestimate.
Origin
The origin of the adjective is uncertain; it is possibly from flim(-flam) (“(noun) false information presented as true, misinformation, nonsense; poor attempt at deception, confidence trick, pretence; (adjective) frivolous, nonsensical; deceptive; fictitious”) or a metathesis of film (“thin layer of a substance; slender thread”) + -sy (suffix forming adjectives and nouns). The noun and verb are derived from the noun. Noun sense 4 (“metal container”) refers to the fact that the containers often split along their seams and leaked.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)