hoary
Americanadjective
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having grey or white hair
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white or whitish-grey in colour
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ancient or venerable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hoary
Explanation
Use the adjective hoary to describe something that is old and worn out — like the hoary jokes your great uncle Albert clings to. The word hoary can also be used to describe something that is white or gray with age. Santa is usually depicted with a hoary beard and hoary hair, although sometimes mall Santas have to fake this with wigs and artificial beards. Hoary can also mean covered with fine white hairs or with down — "The hoary leaves felt like velvet to the touch."
Vocabulary lists containing hoary
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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.
Hoary as it can be, the practice still reliably wows audiences and awards voters, as recent-ish Oscar winners like Jessica Chastain, Renée Zellweger, Rami Malek and Gary Oldman can attest.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2023
Hoary stereotypes aside, the Jungle Cruise is a consistently delightful ride largely because of its standout characters: the skippers.
From Slate • Jul. 30, 2021
“By all the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, I command thee, awesome Agamatto, let thine all-seeing eye open before me!”
From The Verge • Nov. 13, 2018
His many munificent mutterings include: the Shadowy Shades of the Seraphim, the Seven Rings of Raggadorr and — who can forget? — the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth.
From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2016
Hoary thieves do not keep academies for the instruction of little fingers in the art of theft.
From Hodge and His Masters by Jefferies, Richard
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.
