fuzzy
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Uncertain. Apparently from fuzz + -y, though some sources suggest that fuzz derives from fuzzy. Compare fozy, or Low German fussig (“loose; spongy”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]fuzzy (comparative fuzzier, superlative fuzziest)
- Covered with fuzz or a large number of tiny loose fibres like a carpet or many stuffed animals
- Vague or imprecise.
- Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal; see also Thesaurus:vague
- My recollection of that event is fuzzy.
- Not clear; unfocused.
- Synonyms: blurry, ill-defined; see also Thesaurus:indistinct
- I finally threw out a large stack of fuzzy photos.
- (computing theory) Employing or relating to fuzzy logic.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]covered with fuzz or loose fibres
|
vague or imprecise
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not clear; unfocused
|
Noun
[edit]fuzzy (plural fuzzies)
- (often in the plural) A very small piece of plush material.
- You've got a fuzzy on your coat.
- Something covered with fuzz or hair, as an animal or plush toy.
- 2000, Kim Schilling, Ferrets for Dummies, New York: Wiley, →ISBN, page 1:
- If you don't yet have a ferret, this book can help you decide whether a fuzzy is for you.
- (slang) A person, especially a college student, interested in humanities or social sciences, as opposed to one interested in mathematics, science, or engineering.
- 2010, Donald Barr, Questioning the Premedical Paradigm […] , Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 2:
- A "fuzzy" on the other hand is a "people person," — someone who prefers studying the humanities or social sciences, someone who sees the world in broad contextual terms.
- 2017, Scott Hartley, The Fuzzy and the Techie […] [1], Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN:
- If you majored in the humanities or social sciences, you were a fuzzy, and if you majored in engineering or computer science, you were a techie.
- (slang, military) A soldier with the rank of private.
- (slang) A police officer.
Derived terms
[edit]References
[edit]- fuzzy, adj. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
- fuzzy. Frederick C. Mish (Editor in Chief), Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Merriam-Webster, 1994. →OCLC
- “fuzzy n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
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