Wispy describes something thin, light, and delicate, like strands of hair floating across someone's face or thin clouds drifting across a blue sky. When you see wispy smoke curling up from a candle you just blew out, you're watching something so light it barely seems to be there.

The word often describes things that look fragile or insubstantial. A little girl might have wispy bangs that flutter in the breeze. An elderly man might have a wispy beard, with thin, soft hairs instead of thick, full growth. You might see wispy cirrus clouds stretched across the sky like feathers, or notice wispy steam rising from a cup of hot chocolate.

Wispy suggests something barely there, almost ghostly in how delicate it is. When an artist draws with thin, light pencil strokes, those lines might be called wispy. The word captures that quality of being so light and fine that it might disappear at any moment, like morning fog that the sun will soon burn away.