knobbly

British  

/ ˈnɒblɪ /

adjective

1. having or covered with small knobs; bumpy

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Explanation

If something's lumpy and misshapen, you can describe it as knobbly. Don't throw out those knobbly potatoes from your garden — they're ugly, but they'll taste perfectly fine! If a camper pitches her tent over a bumpy patch of ground, she'll feel all of those knobbly roots and rocks through her sleeping bag later. This adjective, a variation on knobby, comes from knob, "rounded lump or bump." That gnarled oak tree in your yard is knobbly, and so are your little sister's bony knees.

Example Sentences

Morgan’s nose, check out Karl Smallwood’s article “J.P. Morgan and His Giant, Knobbly, Purple Nose,” which may or may not be the best research on the topic but is definitely the best headline.

From Slate • Aug. 21, 2020

Knobbly and pockmarked objects mounted on small wooden bases with thin metal rods, they suggest unfinished human figures the way a ginseng root does.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2017

His bookshelves were filled with reference works: “The Water Glossary,” “Brickle, Nish and Knobbly: A Newfoundland Treasury of Terms for Ice and Snow.”

From The New Yorker • Apr. 10, 2017

Photograph: John Arnaud/Alamy Knobbly carrots, wonky spuds, bent courgettes and discoloured cauliflowers will return to supermarket shelves after one of the worst growing seasons farmers have experienced in decades.

From The Guardian • Sep. 27, 2012