Atomy

/ˈætəmi/ · noun

Meaning

A tiny particle; an atom, a mote, a speck..

Definitions by Sense

1. A tiny particle; an atom, a mote, a speck.
2. (figurative, archaic except UK, dialectal) A very small being; a mite.
3. Made up of tiny particles.
4. Resembling a tiny particle; atomlike.
5. (archaic) A skeleton.
6. A person who is very emaciated or thin; a skeleton.
7. Chiefly in the works of the English author Charles Dickens (1812–1870): a thing which is very slender and weak.

Example Sentences

Thou tellſt me there is murder in mine eye, / 'Tis pretty ſure, and very probable, / That eyes, that are the frailſt and ſofteſt things, / VVho ſhut their covvard gates on atomyes, / Should be called tyrants, butchers, murtherers.

[…] Hunger. It was prevalent everywhere. […] Hunger was shred into atomies in every farthing porringer of husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.

O then I ſee Queene Mab hath bin vvith you: She is the Fairies mid-vvife, and ſhe comes in ſhape no bigger thẽ [then; i.e., than] an Agot ſtone, on the forefinger of an Alderman, dravvne vvith a teeme of little ottamie, ouer mens noſes as they lie aſleep: […]

Was there a "delicate atomy" of minute dimensions and pale complexion, he forthwith strutted a hardy Highlander.

"Hey!" he said, "why, it's Tom! I suppose you have come here to laugh at me, you spiteful little atomy?"

But why waste time fighting atomies who do not come up to your belly-button, Ben?

Things that flit in the sky or creep / In the atomy dust, or swarm in the deep, […]

Hour after hour we slopped along, by the roaring torrent, and under noble Lesser Alps which were clothed in rich velvety green all the way up and had little atomy Swiss homes perched upon grassy benches along their mist-dimmed heights.

Synonyms for atomy

Antonyms for atomy

Related Words

Word Forms

• atomy
• atomies
• more atomy
• most atomy

Usage Notes

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