grizzled
Americanadjective
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having gray or partly gray hair.
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gray or partly gray.
adjective
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streaked or mixed with grey; grizzly; griseous
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having grey or partly grey hair
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grizzled
Explanation
If someone's hair is streaked with gray, you can describe it as grizzled. Your dad's grizzled beard might need a trim by the end of your two-week camping trip. As well as a good way to talk about the silvery hair (or facial hair) itself, you can also describe a person as grizzled. Before he went totally white-haired, Santa Claus must have been grizzled. This adjective comes from a 14th-century noun, grizzle, which meant both "gray-haired old man" and "gray horse," and probably came from the Old French grisel, "gray."
Vocabulary lists containing grizzled
The Sea of Monsters
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Ancient Wisdom: Synonyms for "Old"
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The Shining
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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.
When Watt is not working with pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, he’s often producing grizzled rock heroes, including Iggy Pop and Paul McCartney—who recommended Watt to the Rolling Stones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Fast facts: A grizzled version of the title character is played by Hugh Jackman in this drama, which reimagines the altruistic thief as an aging man grappling with his violent past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Jacob Elordi, off of an Oscar nomination, is the most obvious ‘Euphoria’ bait, and I hope voters give grizzled veteran Sam Elliott his due for a memorable ‘Landman’ arc.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
"As a crime viewer, I've had enough of troubled, grizzled detectives in the wilderness battling their demons," he said.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
She was drowsy; instead of her usual lively chatter, she grizzled unhappily, and Pantalaimon lay limply as a mouse against her neck.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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.
