What does "hoary" mean?
White, whitish, or greyish-white.
Hoary
/hɔɹ.i/ adj
adj ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: White, whitish, or greyish-white.
- Grammar: hoary is listed as adj.
- Nearest alternatives: gray-haired, acknowledged, admitted, advanced.
- Useful contrasts: fresh, innovative, modern.
- Usage evidence: "Then wars shall cease and savage times grow mild, / and Remus and Quirinus, brethren twain, / with hoary Faith and Vesta undefiled, / shall give the law. With iron bolt and chain / firm-closed the gates of Janus shall remain. / Within, the Fiend of Discord, high reclined / on horrid arms, unheeded in the fane, / bound with a hundred brazen knots behind, / and grim with gory jaws, his grisly teeth shall grind."
How to use "hoary"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hoary" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hoary" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hoary" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hoary" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hoary" is acting as adj in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "gray-haired" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hoary", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 White, whitish, or greyish-white.
"As hoary frost with spangles doth attire, The mossy braunches of an oke halfe ded,"
- 2 White or grey with age.
"The old man bowed his hoary head in acquiescence."
- 3 Of a pale silvery grey.
- 4 Covered with short, dense, greyish white hairs.
- 5 Old or old-fashioned; trite. figuratively
"It was, however, most interesting work, and the moulders themselves were a decent crowd, never tired of making jokes about themselves such as the hoary one that moulders did not live long, which however ran counter to the other one that no germs could live in a foundry—the atmosphere was too foul."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Remote in time past. obsolete
"The probability of these flattering fictions could no longer be examined, when the hoary antiquity of such traditions had gained them veneration. An adventure of ancient date was in blind after-ages too readily received as truth."
- 7 Moldy; mossy; musty. obsolete
"By chance there was at that time brought out of the citie into the campe verie course, hoarie, moulded bread, which some of the souldiours hauing bought, and thrusting it vpon the points of their speares, shewed it vnto their fellowes in great choller, railing against king Ferdinand, which in his owne kingdome in the beginning of the warre had made no better prouision, but with such corrupt and pestilent bread to feed them being strangers, which were onely for his defence and quarrell to aduenture their liues."
Adjective
- 1 covered with fine whitish hairs or down wordnet
- 2 ancient wordnet
- 3 showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
""Then wars shall cease and savage times grow mild, / and Remus and Quirinus, brethren twain, / with hoary Faith and Vesta undefiled, / shall give the law. With iron bolt and chain / firm-closed the gates of Janus shall remain. / Within, the Fiend of Discord, high reclined / on horrid arms, unheeded in the fane, / bound with a hundred brazen knots behind, / and grim with gory jaws, his grisly teeth shall grind.""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hoary"?
Common synonyms include: gray-haired, acknowledged, admitted, advanced, advanced in life, advanced in years.
How do you use "hoary" in a sentence?
"Then wars shall cease and savage times grow mild, / and Remus and Quirinus, brethren twain, / with hoary Faith and Vesta undefiled, / shall give the law. With iron bolt and chain / firm-closed the gates of Janus shall remain. / Within, the Fiend of Discord, high reclined / on horrid arms, unheeded in the fane, / bound with a hundred brazen knots behind, / and grim with gory jaws, his grisly teeth shall grind."
How do you pronounce "hoary"?
Pronounced /hɔɹ.i/.
Etymology
Possibly from Middle English *hori (suggested by horilocket (“hoary-locked, having hoary locks or curls”)), equivalent to hoar + -y. Alternatively, Middle English horilocket may represent Middle English hor (“hoar, hoary”) + ilocket (“locked”) rather than hori (“hoary”) + locket (“locked”).