pendulous

adjective

pen·​du·​lous ˈpen-jə-ləs 

ˈpen-dyə-,

-də-

1

archaic : poised without visible support

2

a

: suspended so as to swing freely

branches hung with pendulous vines

b

: inclined or hanging downward

pendulous jowls

3

: marked by vacillation, indecision, or uncertainty

pendulousness noun

Synonyms

• bowed
• bowing
• declined
• declining
• descendant
• descendent
• descending
• drooping
• droopy
• hanging
• hung
• inclining
• nodding
• sagging
• stooping
• weeping

Examples of pendulous in a Sentence

a cow with a pendulous udder

a pendulous crystal chandelier dominated the ballroom

Recent Examples on the Web

Johnson continued to play the new-age bohemian with a pendulous amulet swinging from her neck. —Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2024

Now my face was enormous, my mouth elongated, my nostrils gaping, and my lips pendulous. —Hazlitt, 26 July 2023

Most of us non-natives who have chosen to dribble out our days at the tip of this pendulous peninsula — too soft or too old for harder lives being lived in greater America (my wife puts me in both categories) — realize that escape comes with certain cultural trade-offs. —Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 30 June 2022

According to an article by MJ Banias, on the Web site the Debrief, Bigelow hired investigators to look into reports at Skinwalker of doglike creatures who smelled of sulfur and goblins with long, pendulous arms, as well as U.F.O. activity near Mt. Shasta. —The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Latin pendulus, from pendēre to hang

First Known Use

circa 1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pendulous

adjective

pen·​du·​lous ˈpen-jə-ləs 

1

: hanging so as to swing freely

2

: hanging downward

pendulously adverb

Medical Definition

pendulous

adjective

pen·​du·​lous -ləs 

: inclined or hanging downward