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crawly

[kraw-lee]Informal.
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adjective, crawl·i·er, crawl·i·est.

that crawls; noting or describing things, as worms or insects, that crawl, especially imparting a queasy feeling; creepy.

noun, plural crawl·ies.

a crawling insect, small reptile, etc.

Origin of crawly

First recorded in 1855–60; crawl1 + -y1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for crawly

tingling, scary, fantastic, awesome, creepy, strange, supernatural, uncanny, ghostly, mysterious, bizarre, frightening, weird, crawling, prickling, fearful, spectral, superstitious, unearthly

Examples from the Web for crawly

Historical Examples of crawly

  • The horror of it was that the creeping, crawly thing made no sound—only crawled!

  • It sort of scares me, Steve—it's so creepy and crawly looking.

    Spacehounds of IPC

    Edward Elmer Smith

  • All over the tree they ran, creepy, crawly, looking at every single thing.

  • "But there's men that is nasty and crawly things," he argued.

  • They're so crawly and graceful—but, just the same, I like to watch them.

    McTeague

    Frank Norris

British Dictionary definitions for crawly

crawly

adjective crawlier or crawliest

informal feeling or causing a sensation like creatures crawling on one's skin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012