Standard Lemma guide

wiry

adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈwaɪ(ə)ɹi/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -aɪəɹi
  • CMU ARPABET: W IH1 R IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Resembling wire.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • My hair was very wiry in my teens.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Thin, muscular and flexible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

of or relating to wire

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

of hair that resembles wire in stiffness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • wiry red hair

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

lean and sinewy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stringy

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From wire + -y.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: жилав (žilav) — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Dutch: pezig — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Finnish: jäntevä — thin, muscular and flexible
  • German: drahtig — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Italian: fibroso — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Māori: pakaua — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Māori: tuakaka — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Russian: жи́листый (žílistyj) — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Russian: поджа́рый (podžáryj) — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Spanish: fibroso — thin, muscular and flexible
  • Swedish: senig — thin, muscular and flexible