Papery describes something that feels or looks like paper: thin, dry, and delicate. When autumn leaves turn brown and crinkle easily in your hand, they've become papery. The shed skin of a snake feels papery, so thin you can almost see through it.

The word often suggests fragility. A papery wasp nest tears easily because it's made from chewed wood fibers that dry into something remarkably like paper. Very old books sometimes have papery pages that threaten to crumble if you turn them too roughly. Some flower petals, like those of poppies, feel papery compared to the thick, waxy petals of magnolias.

You might also hear someone describe papery skin, meaning skin that has become thin and delicate with age, almost translucent. Papery birch bark peels away in sheets that look like parchment. The word captures that combination of thinness, dryness, and fragility that makes you want to handle it carefully.