horny

American  

[hawr-nee] / ˈhɔr ni /

adjective

hornier, horniest

1. consisting of a horn or a hornlike substance; corneous.

2. having a horn or horns or hornlike projections; horned.

3. hornlike as a result of hardening; callous.

   horny hands.

4. Slang: Vulgar.

   1. lustful.

   2. sexually excited.

5. Archaic. semiopaque or somewhat translucent, like horn.

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horny British  

/ ˈhɔːnɪ /

adjective

1. of, like, or hard as horn

2. having a horn or horns

3. slang

   1. sexually aroused

   2. provoking or intended to provoke sexual arousal

   3. sexually eager or lustful

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Other Word Forms

• hornily adverb
• horniness noun

Etymology

Origin of horny

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; horn + -y ¹

Explanation

Things that are horny either look like or are made of an animal’s horn or a similar hard material. The thick, hard nail on your big toe could be described as horny. The word horny, describing the bony projection on an animal's head, appeared in English before the 10th century. An informal meaning — that of being sexually aroused — appeared later. Male physical arousal was crudely referred to as "having the horn” in the late 18th century before becoming the word horny in the mid-19th century. First used exclusively for men, the word now describes women's sexual feelings as well.

Example Sentences

“Some old rancher would get up and say, ‘We had horny toads and we should have them again!

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2021

Don’t be fooled by the hazy visuals, retro aesthetic and moody lighting — this isn’t really part of the “Riverdale” darkly horny teen soap genre.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2020

Indeed, the university rescinded admission offers for at least 10 prospective students in 2017 over offensive comments they had made in a private Facebook group called “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens”.

From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2019

Apart from the tusks, dicynodonts were mostly toothless, with a horny beak like modern-day turtles.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 22, 2018

The golden monkey was holding out his little black hand, and Ama’s butterfly dæmon was fluttering closer and closer until he settled on a horny forefinger.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman