ligneous

American  

[lig-nee-uhs] / ˈlɪg ni əs /

adjective

1. of the nature of or resembling wood; woody.

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ligneous British  

/ ˈlɪɡnɪəs /

adjective

1. of or resembling wood

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Etymology

Origin of ligneous

First recorded in 1620–30, ligneous is from the Latin word ligneus of wood. See lign-, -eous

Explanation

If something's made of wood, or looks like it is, it's ligneous. A tree is a ligneous plant. A stiff politician is a ligneous person. Ligneous is a technical term, the kind that scientists like, so if you want to describe something as wood-like in a casual conversation or an informal piece of writing, it's probably best to go with, well, wood-like, or woody. Use ligneous if you're deliberately trying to sound like someone who spends a lot of time looking into a microscope.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ligneous

He was educated during youthful travels through Western Europe, and loathed the Slavic, ligneous chaos of Moscow.

From Newsweek

Baba’s lips, formed from the tree trunk’s bark, were pressed tight, his ligneous face full of a quiet sadness.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Fossils, as these are called, consist generally of the harder and more durable parts of animals and plants, such as bones, shells, teeth, seeds, bark, and ligneous tissues, &c.

From Geology by James Geikie

When nothing but the ligneous skeleton or woody fibre remains, it may be placed in a weak solution of chloride of lime, and exposed to the sun under glass to dry and bleach.

From Practical Taxidermy A manual of instruction to the amateur in collecting, preserving, and setting up natural history specimens of all kinds. To which is added a chapter upon the pictorial arrangement of museums. With additional instructions in modelling and artistic taxidermy. by Montagu Browne

But the bivouac was not even supplied with chiah—one of the commonest plants in Sahara, having a ligneous root, which had hitherto served us for fuel when everything else failed.

From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 452 Volume 18, New Series, August 28, 1852 by Robert Chambers