tinny

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   having a thin, harsh, metallic sound

   The tinny speaker made the piano sound brittle.

2. 2
   adj

   cheap, flimsy, or insubstantial in quality or appearance

   The toy felt tinny and poorly made.

3. 3
   adj

   containing, coated with, or resembling tin

   A tinny gleam showed through the worn paint.

Formed from tin and the adjective suffix -y. The literal sense ‘resembling tin’ developed figurative uses for a thin metallic sound and for something that feels cheap or insubstantial.

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