fuzzy
English
Etymology
Uncertain. Apparently from fuzz + -y, though some sources suggest that fuzz derives from fuzzy. Compare fozy, or (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Low German fussig (“loose; spongy”).
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ʌzi
Adjective
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.
- My recollection of that event is fuzzy.
- Not clear; unfocused.
- I finally threw out a large stack of fuzzy photos.
Synonyms
- (covered with fuzz):
- (vague or imprecise): ambiguous, equivocal; see also Thesaurus:vague
- (not clear): blurry, fuzzy, ill-defined; see also Thesaurus:indistinct
Derived terms
Translations
covered with fuzz or loose fibres
|
vague or imprecise
|
not clear; unfocused
|
Noun
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: Enhancing Diversity in the Medical Profession a Century after the Flexner Report, 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.
- (slang, military) A soldier with the rank of private.
Derived terms
References
- 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
Categories:
- English terms suffixed with -y
- English terms derived from Low German
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ʌzi
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English slang
- en:Military
- en:Hair