Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Full of reeds.
  • adjective Made of reeds.
  • adjective Resembling a reed, especially in being thin or fragile.
  • adjective Music Having a tone like that of a reed instrument.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Abounding with reeds.
  • Consisting of or resembling a reed.
  • Noting a tone like that produced from a reed-instrument. Such tones are usually somewhat nasal, and are often thin and cutting.
  • Noting a quality of iron in which bars or plates of it have the nature of masses of rods imperfectly welded together.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Abounding with reeds; covered with reeds.
  • adjective Having the quality of a reed in tone, that is, harsh and thin, as some voices.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Full of, or edged with, reeds.
  • adjective high and thin in tone.
  • adjective of a person tall and thin.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective resembling a reed in being upright and slender
  • adjective having a tone of a reed instrument

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From reed.

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Examples

  • I was winding down what I wanted to say and I looked out over the group and even though they were smiling and nodding and immensely gracious, it struck me just how very reedy is my voice.

    I did it « Dating Jesus 2009

  • I was winding down what I wanted to say and I looked out over the group and even though they were smiling and nodding and immensely gracious, it struck me just how very reedy is my voice.

    21 « October « 2009 « Dating Jesus 2009

  • He performs badly under pressure and has a thin reedy weak voice which does not exactly inspire confidence.

    A Hostage to Fortune for 2011? 2008

  • I flinched, and he gritted his teeth, breathing in short, reedy gasps.

    Sick Cycle Carousel 2010

  • He performs badly under pressure and has a thin reedy weak voice which does not exactly inspire confidence.

    Archive 2008-03-02 2008

  • They roost at night in reedy or marshy areas near Lake Chapala or irrigation ditches.

    One for the birds in Ajijic, Mexico 2007

  • Cohen sang in a tenor you could call "reedy" if you wanted to be nice, "nasal" if you didn't.

    Slate Articles Jan Swafford 2012

  • In the succeeding years, a different character was substituted for "reedy," and the Yoshiwara became known as the happy field.

    The Miko Lustbader, Eric 1984

  • Buoys are moored with specially tested cables; the eye at the base of the buoy is of wrought iron to prevent it becoming "reedy" and the cable is secured to blocks (see ANCHOR) or mushroom anchors according to the nature of the ground.

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" Various

  • This point may be distinguished by the growth of a coarse kind of reedy grass, which does not make its appearance on the southern portion of the swamp or lake.

    Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia William John Wills 1847

Comments

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  • "He was awfully young--a reedy, blotched teenager." -Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris

    February 5, 2011