curly

[ kur-lee ]
See synonyms for curly on Thesaurus.com
adjective,curl·i·er, curl·i·est.
  1. curling or tending to curl: curly blond hair.

  2. having curls (usually used in combination): curlyheaded.

  1. having a rippled or undulating appearance, as cut and finished wood: curly maple.

Origin of curly

1
First recorded in 1720–30; curl + -y1

Other words from curly

  • curl·i·ness, noun

Words Nearby curly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use curly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for curly

curly

/ (ˈkɜːlɪ) /


adjectivecurlier or curliest
  1. tending to curl; curling

  2. having curls

  1. (of timber) having irregular curves or waves in the grain

  2. Australian and NZ difficult to counter or answer: a curly question

Derived forms of curly

  • curliness, noun

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