hirsute

[hur-soot, hur-soot]

adjective

1. hairy; shaggy.

   Synonyms: furry, woolly, bushy, bearded, unshaved, pilose

2. Botany, Zoology.,  covered with long, rather stiff hairs.

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of hair.

hirsute

/ ˈhɜːsjuːt /

adjective

1. covered with hair

2. (of plants or their parts) covered with long but not stiff hairs

3. (of a person) having long, thick, or untrimmed hair

Other Word Forms

• hirsuteness noun
• subhirsute adjective
• subhirsuteness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hirsute¹

1615–25; < Latin hirsūtus rough, shaggy, bristly; akin to horrid

Word History and Origins

Origin of hirsute¹

C17: from Latin hirsūtus shaggy; related to Latin horrēre to bristle, hirtus hairy; see _horrid

Example Sentences

There was also a fervent believer in Sasquatch and a museum in Santa Cruz dedicated to the hirsute, mythical creature.

From Los Angeles Times

A high point for polished yet hirsute L.A. rock: The Eagles’ Hollywood phantasmagoria is named record of the year the same night Fleetwood Mac wins the album prize with the darkly glittering “Rumours.”

From Los Angeles Times

Spokesman and prominent letter writer Keith Flett says the group is "continuing to review Prince William's latest beard and assessing if it is contributing to a positive image of the hirsute in the public eye".

From BBC

Predators and poisonous fungi threaten the unwary, but these hirsute hillocks are mostly a danger to themselves — as the alpha will learn when he seems bent on visiting his lust on a hungry mountain lion.

From New York Times

Other scientific studies have attributed the impact of bison activity to reducing plant diversity, damaging endemic plants and tree species like oak trees, and spreading non-native plant seeds through their hirsute coats and droppings.

From National Geographic