woolly

1 of 2

adjective

wool·​ly ˈwu̇-lē 

variants or less commonly wooly

woollier; woolliest

1

a

: resembling wool

b

: of, relating to, or bearing wool

2

a

: lacking in clearness or sharpness of outline

a woolly TV picture

b

: marked by mental confusion

woolly thinking

3

: marked by boisterous roughness or lack of order or restraint

where the West is still woolly

—Paul Schubert

—used especially in the phrase wild and woolly

woollily

ˈwu̇-lə-lē 

adverb

woolliness noun

woolly

2 of 2

noun

wool·​ly ˈwu̇-lē 

variants or less commonly wooly or woolie

plural woollies also woolies

1

: a garment made from wool

especially : underclothing of knitted wool

—usually used in plural

2

Western US and Australia : sheep

Synonyms

Adjective

• furry
• fuzzy
• hairy
• rough
• shaggy

Examples of woolly in a Sentence

Adjective

the dog's woolly coat will require a lot of grooming

still had a water bed and a woolly coverlet on top of it

Noun

Get out your winter woollies.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The most recent discovery prior to this one was uncovered in 2020, when a preserved woolly rhino emerged from muddy, thawing permafrost. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024

The beginning of sheep in the West dates to the 1500s, when Spanish explorers first brought the woolly mammals to the Colorado Plateau. —Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, 1 Sep. 2024

Noun

In a 1994 Foreign Affairs article, the economist Paul Krugman skewered some of the woolly thinking on national competitiveness of the type favored at Davos and other jamborees of the global elite. —Nicholas Shaxson, Foreign Affairs, 7 July 2021

Some specific morphological and ecological features of the fossil woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis Blumenbach 1799) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. —Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

circa 1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing woolly

• wild and woolly
• woolly adelgid
• woolly aphid
• woolly bear
• woolly-headed
• woolly mammoth
• woolly monkey
• woolly spider monkey

Kids Definition

woolly

1 of 2 adjective

wool·​ly

variants also wooly

ˈwu̇l-ē 

woollier; woolliest

1

a

: of, relating to, or bearing wool

woolly animals

b

: resembling wool

2

: marked by mental confusion

woolly thinking

3

: marked by roughness or disorder

the wild and woolly West

woolliness noun

woolly

2 of 2 noun

wool·​ly

variants also wooly or woolie

ˈwu̇l-ē

plural woollies

: a woolen garment

especially : underclothing of knitted wool

—usually used in plural