Peely

//piːli// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Tending to peel.

    "Rough, “peely” arms, shoulders, legs—See Angel Skin soothe, soften, cool sensitive wind-and-sun irritated skin. Rough flakiness dissolves off."

  2. 2
    Resembling or characteristic of a peel.

    "Nut-cracking goes on in a perfect fusillade, and oranges are peeled to an extent that sends a Covent Garden Market fragrance through the house, swifter than fall the peely flakes from the gallery above."

  3. 3
    Intended to be peeled. rare

    "Oranges’ skins are more peely than pare-y."

  4. 4
    Having a peel. rare

    "Primates process protected fruits by holding them in the hand(s) and removing the peel with the incisors. The ability of primates to consume unprotected fruits is restricted by competition from birds whereas texture prevents birds from consuming peely fruits."

Synonyms

All synonyms

Example

More examples

"Rough, “peely” arms, shoulders, legs—See Angel Skin soothe, soften, cool sensitive wind-and-sun irritated skin. Rough flakiness dissolves off."

Etymology

From peel + -y.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.