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Gossamer

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vocabulary

Gossamer

Extremely light, delicate, and filmy

Light as Spider Silk

Early morning, a spiderweb catches the light—impossibly thin, almost invisible, yet strong enough to trap insects. This is gossamer: something extremely light, delicate, and filmy.

The word originally meant the fine threads spiders spin on autumn mornings. Now it describes anything with that same fragile, barely-there quality.

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examples

Gossamer Examples

Visual examples of delicate, filmy lightness

Delicate spiderweb covered in morning dew drops, threads barely visible except where water catches light, intricate and fragile

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Gossamer originally meant spider silk—incredibly fine yet surprisingly strong.

Close-up of dragonfly wing showing translucent gossamer membrane with visible vein patterns, light shining through

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Dragonfly wings are gossamer—so thin that light passes right through them.

Thin wispy morning mist floating over meadow at sunrise, barely visible haze creating ethereal atmosphere

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Morning mist hangs like gossamer—visible one moment, vanished the next.

Very sheer translucent white fabric billowing gently in breeze, light passing through showing its delicate gossamer quality

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Gossamer fabric is so light it floats on air, almost transparent.

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quiz

Gossamer Quiz

Test your understanding of gossamer in context

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Which fabric would be described as gossamer?

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