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Synonyms

fair-haired

American  
[fair-haird] / ˈfɛərˌhɛərd /

adjective

  1. having light-colored hair.


idioms

  1. fair-haired boy, a person, especially a young one, treated as a favorite or considered especially promising by a superior or the members of a group.

    He's the fair-haired boy of the literary set.

Etymology

Origin of fair-haired

First recorded in 1620–30; fair 1 + hair + -ed 3

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.

See Examples For:

The baffling disappearance of a fair-haired, little boy from a remote Australian farm has been declared a major crime, with detectives pointing the finger at a suspect in his home.

From Barron's Feb. 7, 2026

The BBC investigation has found that, at the time of the murder, White looked similar to the unidentified suspect known as the "fair-haired attacker".

From BBC Jun. 26, 2023

“I had the world by the tail,” he writes in his new memoir, “The Answer Is…” “I was the talented newcomer in broadcasting. I was the bright, fair-haired boy.”

From New York Times Jul. 21, 2020

Stempel and Van Doren were an obvious contrast: The fair-haired and handsome Van Doren, and the relatively plain Stempel, a stocky, dark-haired man with glasses and a flat, nasally accent.

From Washington Times May 31, 2020

She sometimes forgot what a handsome man he was, in that fair-haired blue-eyed sort of way.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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