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peaky

[pee-kee]
See more synonyms for peaky on Thesaurus.com
adjective, peak·i·er, peak·i·est.
  1. peaked2.
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Origin of peaky

First recorded in 1870–75; peak(ed)2 + -y1
Related formspeak·i·ly, adverbpeak·i·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

ailinglacklustercrankyfeebleinfirmemaciateddyinghungryundernourishedmalnourishedangularforlornanorexicthingrimbleakwanpeakedweakenedfaint

Examples from the Web for peaky

Historical Examples

  • He's a peaky little chap; it comes of being a poet, I think.

    The Story of the Treasure Seekers

    E. Nesbit

  • It is like liberty itself, after the peaky confinement of Sicily.

    Sea and Sardinia

    D. H. Lawrence

  • She might be described as pretty, but "peaky" and "spindling."

    The Soul of Susan Yellam

    Horace Annesley Vachell

  • Why or wherefore I don't know, but these last days she has been as peaky as can be.

    A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3)

    Frances Eleanor Trollope

  • Them peaky little clams a'most puts out all my shoulder-blades, and wunna bite through a twine of gristle.

    Mary Anerley

    R. D. Blackmore

British Dictionary definitions for peaky

peaky

adjective -kier or -kiest
  1. wan, emaciated, or sickly
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Word Origin

C16: of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012