leafy

L1E1A1F4Y4
/ˈliːfi/

adjective

Covered with leaves.

“leafy trees”

Similar
foliatedlaminatelayeredbifoliatetwo-leavedtwo-leafedbowerycurly-leaved
Opposite
Less commonScrabble 11

Meanings

adjectiveleafy (comparative leafier, superlative leafiest)

comparative leafier · superlative leafiest · alternative leavy

  1. Covered with leaves.

    leafy trees

    1 more example

    leafy vegetables

  2. Containing much foliage.

    a leafy avenue

    1 more example

    The Earth is facing a climate crisis, but it’s also getting greener and leafier. According to new research, the rise is largely courtesy of China and India.

    2019 February 13, Emily Dixon, “China and India are making the planet greener, NASA says”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2024
  3. In the form of leaves (of some material).

    Synonyms: foliated, laminate, layered

  4. Resembling a leaf.

    Another option is to wash spinach and other leafy greens thoroughly in running water before eating them.

    2021 July 1, Gregory McNamee, “Does spinach make you strong? Ask Popeye – and science”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2025
  5. Wealthy, middle- or upper-class.

    They live in a beautiful house in a leafy suburb.

    4 more examples

    Those are not necessarily the leafiest areas. From the tenants of Durham, £1,671,546 was used to subsidise people elsewhere. I am not familiar with Durham, it may be a very leafy place in the north-east, but I suspect that there is a need for those funds.

    2008 January 23, Robert Syms, “Housing and Regeneration Bill: Exclusions from Subsidy Arrangements”, in parliamentary debates (House of Commons), archived from the original on 22 Jul 2024, column 392

    Income tax payments cost the average British taxpayer £4,985 a year, but those who reside in the leafiest areas of the country pay three times this amount.

    2014 July 21, Kyle Caldwell, “Income tax league table: the towns that pay the most and least tax in Britain”, in Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2015

    The Tories plan to give their all against the other Ukip defector, Mark Reckless, in the more prosperous Rochester & Strood next month. But this plays to the stereotype: Tories fighting for leafy areas, hiding from the poorer ones.

    2014 October 10, Fraser Nelson, “Clacton by-election: The Tories cannot fight for leafy areas and forget the poor”, in The Telegraph, archived from the original on 22 Dec 2025

    In an essay for the New Yorker about her own move, also prompted by a breakup, Dunham contrasts the chaotic grit of New York with the “spaciousness” of London – a city that “doesn’t jangle me”. Dunham, as you may by now be sensing, lives in one of the leafier parts of north London.

    2025 July 11, Barbara Speed, “I loved Girls – but could I trust Lena Dunham to write about London?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2025

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveIn the form of leaves (of some material).

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivehaving or covered with leaves

Similar
bifoliatetwo-leavedtwo-leafedbowerycurly-leavedcurly-leafedfan-leavedfan-leafed
Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewbʰ-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*laubą
  3. Proto-West Germanic*laub
  4. Old Englishlēaf
  5. Middle Englishlef
  6. Englishleaf
  7. Englishleafy

From leaf + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan fullós, fullat
  • fullóscovered with leaves
  • fullatcovered with leaves
  • fullóscontaining much foliage
  • fullatcontaining much foliage
  • fullósresembling a leaf
  • foliaciresembling a leaf
Dutch gebladerd, bladrijk
  • gebladerdcovered with leaves
  • bladrijkcontaining much foliage
  • loofrijkcontaining much foliage
  • bladerrijkcontaining much foliage
Finnish lehtevä, lehtevä
  • lehteväcovered with leaves
  • lehteväcontaining much foliage
French feuillu, feuillu
  • feuillucovered with leaves
  • feuillucontaining much foliage
  • feuilletéin the form of leaves (of some material)
German laubtragender, belaubt
  • laubtragendercovered with leaves
  • belaubtcovered with leaves
  • laubigcovered with leaves
  • beblättertcovered with leaves
  • laubreichcontaining much foliage
  • begrüntcontaining much foliage
  • blattreichcontaining much foliage
  • blätterreichcontaining much foliage
  • blattartigin the form of leaves (of some material)
  • Blatt-in the form of leaves (of some material)
  • blattartigresembling a leaf
Indonesian rimbun
  • rimbuncovered with leaves
Irish duilleach, duilleogach
  • duilleachcovered with leaves
  • duilleogachcovered with leaves
  • duilliúrachcovered with leaves
  • duilleachcontaining much foliage
  • duilleogachcontaining much foliage
  • duilliúrachcontaining much foliage
Italian foglioso, fronzuto
  • fogliosocovered with leaves
  • fronzutocontaining much foliage
Latin foliātus, frondeus
  • foliātuscovered with leaves
  • frondeuscovered with leaves
  • pampinōsuscovered with leaves
  • frondeuscontaining much foliage
  • foliātuscontaining much foliage
  • pampinōsuscontaining much foliage
Malay rimbun
  • rimbuncovered with leaves
Māori pūruru
  • pūrurucovered with leaves
Portuguese frondoso, folhoso
  • frondosocovered with leaves
  • folhosocontaining much foliage
  • frondosocontaining much foliage
  • foliáceoin the form of leaves (of some material)
Romanian frunzos, frunzos
  • frunzoscovered with leaves
  • frunzoscontaining much foliage
Scottish Gaelic duilleagach
  • duilleagachcovered with leaves
Spanish frondoso, hojoso
  • frondosocovered with leaves
  • hojosocovered with leaves
  • frondosocontaining much foliage
  • hojosocontaining much foliage
  • foliáceoin the form of leaves (of some material)
  • hojosoin the form of leaves (of some material)
  • hojosoresembling a leaf
  • foliáceoresembling a leaf

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with leafy

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

leafy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leafy

MLA

“leafy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leafy. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leafy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leafy.

Source: leafy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.