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scarry

1 American  
[skahr-ee] / ˈskɑr i /

adjective

scarrier, scarriest

  1. marked with the scars of wounds.

scarry 2 American  
[skahr-ee] / ˈskɑr i /

adjective

  1. full of precipitous, rocky places.

Scarry 3 American  
[skahr-ee] / ˈskɑr i /

noun

  1. Richard McClure, 1919–94, U.S. author and illustrator of children's books.

Etymology

Origin of scarry1

First recorded in 1645–55; scar 1 + -y 1

Origin of scarry2

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at scar 2, -y 1

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.

No gently graduated steps lead up to them: they are upon us with the violent abruptness of a streak of lightning, and like this, they, too, may leave behind them a scarry trace.

From Maurice Guest by Richardson, Henry Handel

They tell how they would ride at night and how scarry lookin' they was.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 5 by Work Projects Administration

Definitions 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.