hirsute

[ hur-soot, hur-soot ]

/ ˈhɜr sut, hɜrˈsut /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hirsute ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

hairy; shaggy.

Botany, Zoology. covered with long, rather stiff hairs.

of, relating to, or characteristic of hair.

RELATED WORDS

bearded, shaggy, woolly, furry

Nearby words

Origin of hirsute

1615–25; < Latin hirsūtus rough, shaggy, bristly; akin to horrid

SYNONYMS FOR hirsute

1. pilose, unshaved, bearded, bushy, woolly, furry.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hirsute ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formshir·sute·ness, nounsub·hir·sute, adjectivesub·hir·sute·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hirsute

The star is not entirely to blame for his hideous, hirsute transgression.
Leo, the Beard Has to Go: When a Man’s Facial Hair Reaches Crisis Point|Tim Teeman|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Okay, the historical “Santa” is quite different from the hirsute character on the Hallmark cards.
How Santa Hurts Christmas|Candida Moss|December 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Arnone is 33, hirsute and handsome, his dark looks inherited from Sicilian ancestors.
The Art of the Pig|Blake Gopnik|October 31, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Porter finds that loving a hirsute man is also about accepting the mixed messages his hairiness might imply.
An Ode to Shaggy Men|Marisa Meltzer|October 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST

British comedienne Lucy Porter has penned a sweet tribute to hirsute men in her new book, Hairy Hunks.
An Ode to Shaggy Men|Marisa Meltzer|October 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Wherefore, in an hour of aboriginal commerce Mr. Hickok encouraged a hirsute luxuriance in the name of trade.
The Sunset Trail|Alfred Henry Lewis
The superstitious declared the gorge was haunted by a frightful, hirsute demon, yclept Hobthurst.
The Lancashire Witches|William Harrison Ainsworth
The whole integument is hirsute with minute pectinated scales.
A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 1 of 2)|Charles Darwin
They were hirsute barbarians, dwelling amid mountain fastnesses, and lording it over a vast territory.
Demonology and Devil-lore|Moncure Daniel Conway
The other three were ordinary, hirsute, dirty ruffians, upon whom she scarcely bestowed a glance.
Tried for Her Life|Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

British Dictionary definitions for hirsute

hirsute

/ (ˈhɜːsjuːt) /

adjective

covered with hair

(of plants or their parts) covered with long but not stiff hairs

(of a person) having long, thick, or untrimmed hair

Derived Formshirsuteness, noun

Word Origin for hirsute

C17: from Latin hirsūtus shaggy; related to Latin horrēre to bristle, hirtus hairy; see horrid

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

Word Origin and History for hirsute

hirsute

adj.

"hairy," 1620s, from Latin hirsutus "rough, shaggy, bristly," figuratively "rude, unpolished," related to hirtus "shaggy," and possibly to horrere "to bristle with fear," from PIE *ghers-tu-, from root *ghers- "to bristle" (see horror).

Medicine definitions for hirsute

hirsute

[ hûr′sōōt′, hîr′-, hər-sōōt′ ]

adj.

Covered with hair; hairy.