adjective
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covered with hair
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(of plants or their parts) covered with long but not stiff hairs
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(of a person) having long, thick, or untrimmed hair
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hirsute
1615–25; < Latin hirsūtus rough, shaggy, bristly; akin to horrid
Explanation
What do Santa Claus, Bigfoot, and unicorns have in common? Aside from the fact that they’re completely real, they’re also hirsute: very, very hairy creatures. All mammals have hair, but the ones that have way more than others, you might call them hirsute. There are hirsute people, like lumberjacks with a jungle of chest hair, bearded ladies at a circus, or just someone with a scraggly hairdo. The word is pronounced "HER-suit," so if you see a woman wearing a furry jacket with matching pants, you could say, "Her suit is hirsute." Just make sure it’s actually a suit and not her real hair.
Vocabulary lists containing hirsute
Shear Genius: Hairy Vocabulary
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This Week in Words: September 8 - 14, 2018
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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.
Ted Cruz’s beard, which Elle magazine described as “the remnants of an everything bagel,” launched a mini-trend of hirsute Senators in the august body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
For fans of a certain vintage, the sight of Los Cafeteros playing in three stripes will evoke memories of a hirsute Carlos Valderrama captaining his team at Italia '90.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
“Hey, what did I tell you,” he said to a husky, hirsute man walking in shirtless.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024
Other scientific studies have attributed the impact of bison activity to reducing plant diversity, damaging endemic plants and tree species like oak trees, and spreading non-native plant seeds through their hirsute coats and droppings.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 18, 2024
He scratched the bumps on his paws and peered through the shutters, expecting to see several hirsute brutes from the hospital.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
