wiry

W4I1R1Y4
/ˈwaɪ(ə)ɹi/

adjective

Resembling wire.

“My hair was very wiry in my teens.”

Similar
stringythinleanhairyhairedhirsute
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

adjectivewiry (comparative wirier, superlative wiriest)

comparative wirier · superlative wiriest

  1. Resembling wire.

    My hair was very wiry in my teens.

  2. Thin, muscular and flexible.

    Don't fight him. He may be small, but he's wiry.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivelean and sinewy

Similar
stringythinlean

adjectiveof hair that resembles wire in stiffness

Similar
hairyhairedhirsute
Also see
strappingstringywirelike

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From wire + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian жилав
  • жилав (žilav)thin, muscular and flexible
Dutch pezig
  • pezigthin, muscular and flexible
Finnish jäntevä
  • jänteväthin, muscular and flexible
German drahtig
  • drahtigthin, muscular and flexible
Italian fibroso
  • fibrosothin, muscular and flexible
Māori pakaua, tuakaka
  • pakauathin, muscular and flexible
  • tuakakathin, muscular and flexible
Russian жи́листый, поджа́рый
  • жи́листый (žílistyj)thin, muscular and flexible
  • поджа́рый (podžáryj)thin, muscular and flexible
Spanish fibroso
  • fibrosothin, muscular and flexible
Swedish senig
  • senigthin, muscular and flexible

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wiry

inquiryexpiryfieryprioryfireyfriaryeyriemiryperspiryspiry
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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