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Synonyms

hoary

American  
[hawr-ee, hohr-ee] / ˈhɔr i, ˈhoʊr i /

adjective

hoarier, hoariest

  1. gray or white with age.

    an old dog with a hoary muzzle.
    Synonyms:
    hoar, grizzly, grizzled

  2. ancient or venerable.

    hoary myths.
    Synonyms:
    revered, aged, dated, old

  3. tedious from familiarity; stale.

    Please don't tell that hoary joke at dinner again tonight.
hoary British  
/ ˈhɔːrɪ /

adjective

  1. having grey or white hair

  2. white or whitish-grey in colour

  3. ancient or venerable

"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

Other Word Forms

  • hoarily adverb
  • hoariness noun
  • unhoary adjective

Etymology

Origin of hoary

First recorded in 1520–30; hoar + -y 1

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.

This hoary habit embodies the conservative philosophy of family life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

These field exposure estimates informed subsequent studies on the impact of such exposure on hibernating bumble bee queens and the hoary squash bee, a solitary ground-nesting species.

From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024

The samples from the stall that contained the coronavirus also contained DNA from a variety of animals, including dogs, rabbits, hoary bamboo rats, Malayan porcupines and masked palm civets.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 21, 2024

Other animals identified as a potential source of the pandemic were the masked palm civet, which was also associated with the Sars outbreak in 2003, as well as hoary bamboo rats and Malayan porcupines.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2024

“Woe, woe, woe!” cries Hrothgar, hoary with winters, peeking in, wide-eyed, from his bedroom in back.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner

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.