grizzled
Americanadjective
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having gray or partly gray hair.
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gray or partly gray.
adjective
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streaked or mixed with grey; grizzly; griseous
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having grey or partly grey hair
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of grizzled
Explanation
If someone's hair is streaked with gray, you can describe it as grizzled. Your dad's grizzled beard might need a trim by the end of your two-week camping trip. As well as a good way to talk about the silvery hair (or facial hair) itself, you can also describe a person as grizzled. Before he went totally white-haired, Santa Claus must have been grizzled. This adjective comes from a 14th-century noun, grizzle, which meant both "gray-haired old man" and "gray horse," and probably came from the Old French grisel, "gray."
Vocabulary lists containing grizzled
The Sea of Monsters
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Ancient Wisdom: Synonyms for "Old"
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The Shining
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Grizzled investors say the run-up merely confirms the age-old wisdom of keeping money in markets through turbulence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
It is now a sanctuary for over 30 species of butterflies including Chalk-hill Blue, Wall Brown, Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper, continuing to hide the site's secretive past.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2025
Grizzled old-timers regaled newbies who had bought discounted lift tickets at the local King Soopers.
From Slate • Dec. 20, 2023
With its 800-person capacity, Kings Hall became the city’s largest music club when it hosted its first show with AC/DC tribute act Hell’s Belles and Seattle rock vets the Grizzled Mighty back in February.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2023
Grizzled and stoic, Gavril drew the shroud from over Yakov’s head.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
