hairy

adjective

ˈher-ē How to pronounce hairy (audio)
Definition of hairynext
1
as in shaggy
covered with or as if with hair a hairy spider

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fuzzy
made of or resembling hair found enough hairy clumps around the house to make another cat a hairy mass of fiberglass insulation

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3
as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling landing on that airstrip is always a hairy proposition

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4
as in disturbing
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings the snowstorm made for a hairy commute back home that evening

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hairy Scope 3 is the big, hairy one to get your arms around, but for us Scope 1 is our own operations—not just our stores, but our manufacturing. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 20 July 2026 Another way that the U-Penn system offers a massive improvement over previous rigid and hydrogel electrodes – which poorly adhere to hairy skin, or skin wet from perspiration – is in their actual dermal application. — New Atlas, 18 July 2026 Following a hairy landing and bombardment, the pace drops dramatically. — Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 New leaves frequently emerge reddish, and the plant may grow as a ground cover, shrub, or climbing vine with hairy aerial roots. — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 15 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for hairy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hairy
  1. shaggy
  2. fuzzy
  3. difficult
  4. disturbing
  5. silky
  6. rough
  7. sensitive
  8. uneasy
Adjective
  • There’s little tension or drive, just shaggy scenes about paranoia, trust and hope.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • So much of it has degraded—tapes rotted to spooky fuzz, videos with shaggy images and too‑white faces.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of shaggy
Adjective
  • Think minimal yet colorful wallpaper, moody color palettes, canopy beds, and most importantly, that warm fuzzy feeling that just keeps bubbling up.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Because the disease cannot be diagnosed in living patients, the relationship between symptoms in life and a diagnosis after death is still fuzzy.
    — Becky Sullivan, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of fuzzy
Adjective
  • The losses linked to the demise of these groups are difficult to quantify, but participants and advocates say the impacts will reverberate across federal agencies for years.
    — Katia Riddle, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Ground surveys can provide more detailed information at a particular site, but covering an entire subway corridor that way would be difficult.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of difficult
Adjective
  • Last awards season, the gossip around town, salacious and disturbing in equal measure, was that hotel suites all over Hollywood were populated by tailors taking in gowns coming straight off the runway.
    — Marti Noxon, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The disturbing situation came to light after a tree fell on the home during a storm.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Adjective
  • Seabrooke said that even day-to-day activities—like washing with too-hot water, heat damage, rough towel drying, and genetics—can all play into hair that’s more staticky than silky.
    — Jenny Berg, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Think poofy baby doll dresses and silky slip dresses, but with that signature Olivia flair, of course.
    — Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of silky
Adjective
  • Other downsides to sulfates include leaving hair feeling dry, brittle, and rough, which Trisler says can be even more damaging if your hair is already compromised.
    — Audrey Noble, Vogue, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Hsu’s argument for why the near-monochrome restaurant doesn’t go flat is that the palette itself runs on tension, with the statement-making veined marble behind the point-of-sale area set against rough plaster walls.
    — Alexis Benveniste, Architectural Digest, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of rough
Adjective
  • Those could include remote sensors, autonomous underwater vehicles and other equipment that requires persistent, low-visibility power in remote and sensitive offshore and coastal environments, as well as power resiliency for forward military bases.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Musk’s officials infiltrated department after department, canceling contracts, firing employees, viewing sensitive data, and kneecapping programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as foreign aid.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of sensitive
Adjective
  • Kurt's key takeaways Hearing AI on a 911 call would make a lot of people uneasy.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Falwell correctly sensed vulnerability in the uneasy alliance between rationalism and Christianity that had prevailed since the eighteenth-century Enlightenment.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of uneasy

Browse Nearby Words

hair-trigger
hairy
hairy-chested
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Cite this Entry

“Hairy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hairy. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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