wooden

[wood-n]

adjective

1. consisting or made of wood; wood.

   a wooden ship.

2. stiff, ungainly, or awkward.

   a wooden gait.

3. without spirit, animation, or awareness.

   Synonyms: impassive, lifeless, vacant, expressionless

4. dull or stupid.

5. indicating the fifth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.

wooden

/ ˈwʊdən /

adjective

1. made from or consisting of wood

2. awkward or clumsy

3. bereft of spirit or animation

   a wooden expression

4. obstinately unyielding

   a wooden attitude

5. mentally slow or dull

6. not highly resonant

   a wooden thud

verb

1. slang,  (tr) to fell or kill (a person or animal)

Other Word Forms

• woodenly adverb
• woodenness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wooden¹

First recorded in 1530–40; wood ¹ + -en ²

Example Sentences

Luckily, I had another suggestion: a visit to the brightly painted wooden mosques that dot the Adjara hills.

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In this “hard land” where “one feels that man is barely permitted to exist,” the family lived in a wooden house on a vast plain.

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“We don’t take those wooden nickels anymore,” he said.

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Witnesses reported seeing the vehicle break through the wooden railing at 9:44 a.m.

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It meant their fate was left up to chance and when Olusoga opened a wooden box containing a protective shield, Bonnar knew his time in the Traitors castle was up.

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