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

Example Sentences

In addition to the unusually thick bones of the neck, they found a hand-size bony disk with a horny “helmet” on the top of its head.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 1, 2022

But the history of many classic cartoons is not well-documented, he said, and there just might be some tie to the Texas horny toad.

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Indeed, the university rescinded admission offers for at least 10 prospective students in 2017 over offensive comments they had made in a private Facebook group called “Harvard memes for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

He saw the dark horny feet of the men and their ragged white clothes, and he heard the creak of leather of the saddle and the clink of spurs.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck