jowly
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of jowly
Explanation
If someone has a double chin and extra flesh around their neck and jaw, you can describe them as jowly. Santa Claus is an example of a jowly gentleman. A heavy, older face is sometimes a bit jowly, with flesh that is settled and drooping around the jaw line and chin. It's not complimentary to describe someone as jowly, but it can be accurate. This adjective comes from jowl, "fold of flesh under the jawbone," from the Middle English cholle, "flesh hanging from the neck or chin," which shares a root with the Old English word for "chin."
Vocabulary lists containing jowly
I Survived the American Revolution, 1776
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Chomp
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The Hiding Place
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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.
See Examples For:
But most of these intellectual flights are cleverly couched in the jowly mundanities of bulldog existence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The mug shot shows the suspect’s head lowered as if to obscure a jowly double-chin, eyes narrowed into a glare, lips firmly pursed and yellow pompadour swirled into a cotton-candy crown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
Mr. Shields’s manner was rumpled, his visage increasingly jowly, his accent unmistakably New England.
From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2022
The breed, also known as the English or British bulldog, earned comparisons with Winston Churchill for its jowly face, and was historically seen as a symbol of courage and endurance.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2022
“Time’s up,” the jowly deputy said to me.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
Payne is a tall, lean, all-American man: a jowlier Tom Brokaw in a red, white and blue tie.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
