What is the Latin word for flimsy?

The usual Latin words for “flimsy” are tenuis, inānis, scrībō; also littera. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“flimsy” in Latin

tenuisthin, slender, slim, lank; especially; fine, rare, thin; pure, clear, not coarse; weak, feeble, tenuous inānisempty, void, hollow; vain; purposeless, meaningless, worthless, useless, fruitless, empty, idle scrībōto write litteraletter (of the alphabet); handwriting; letter, epistle

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

flimsy

tenuis (thin; opposed to crassus: PROP. and IMPROP.; of a letter; Cic.); (The words are found in this connection and order.) tenuis exsanguisque: perquam tenuis et levis: tenuis et jejunus: tenuiter confectus (PROP.; of texture, Caes.): rerum inops (of writings; Hor., A.P., 322): inanis (empty; of thought, of a speech, letter, etc.): frigidus et inanis (spiritless, etc.): parum diligens (e.g., scriptura, litterae, etc.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for flimsy?: The usual Latin words for “flimsy” are tenuis, inānis, scrībō; also littera. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.