Scaly

//ˈskeɪli// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The scaly yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis). South-Africa
Adjective
  1. 1
    Covered or abounding with scales.

    "a scaly fish  a scaly stem"

  2. 2
    Composed of scales lying over each other.

    "a scaly bulb"

  3. 3
    Resembling scales, laminae, or layers.
  4. 4
    low, mean. South-Africa, dated, vulgar

    "a scaly fellow"

Adjective
  1. 1
    having the body covered or partially covered with thin horny plates, as some fish and reptiles wordnet
  2. 2
    rough to the touch; covered with scales or scurf wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
lepidoteleprosesquamuloseasperousbrannychalklike

Example

More examples

"Daffodils are a common cause of dermatitis amongst florists, with daffodil sap provoking symptoms such as redness and dry, scaly skin."

Etymology

From Middle English scali, skaly. By surface analysis, scale + -y.

Related phrases

Cameroon scaly-tailscaly anteaterscaly clamscaly legsscaly tetterscaly thrushscaly-breasted lorikeetscaly-foot gastropodscaly-sided merganserscaly yellowfish

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