adjective
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covered with hair
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(of plants or their parts) covered with long but not stiff hairs
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(of a person) having long, thick, or untrimmed hair
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hirsute
1615–25; < Latin hirsūtus rough, shaggy, bristly; akin to horrid
Explanation
What do Santa Claus, Bigfoot, and unicorns have in common? Aside from the fact that they’re completely real, they’re also hirsute: very, very hairy creatures. All mammals have hair, but the ones that have way more than others, you might call them hirsute. There are hirsute people, like lumberjacks with a jungle of chest hair, bearded ladies at a circus, or just someone with a scraggly hairdo. The word is pronounced "HER-suit," so if you see a woman wearing a furry jacket with matching pants, you could say, "Her suit is hirsute." Just make sure it’s actually a suit and not her real hair.
Vocabulary lists containing hirsute
Shear Genius: Hairy Vocabulary
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This Week in Words: September 8 - 14, 2018
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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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.
The U.S. had a potent team, including California-born Matteo Jorgenson and hirsute Coloradan Quinn Simmons, but they would need to make their own luck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
For fans of a certain vintage, the sight of Los Cafeteros playing in three stripes will evoke memories of a hirsute Carlos Valderrama captaining his team at Italia '90.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
Other scientific studies have attributed the impact of bison activity to reducing plant diversity, damaging endemic plants and tree species like oak trees, and spreading non-native plant seeds through their hirsute coats and droppings.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 18, 2024
There’s just one problem: a certain hirsute fact from topology mandates that isotropic antennas can’t exist.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 18, 2023
Before them marched the clansmen from the hills; chiefs and champions astride shaggy garrons, their hirsute fighters trotting beside them, clad in fins and boiled leather and old mail.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
