Horny Meaning
/ˈhɔːni/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjHard or bony, like an animal's horn.
adjHaving the hard consistency and pale colour of an animal's horn.
Sentence Examples
Why is nobody around when I'm horny?
He only calls her when he's feeling horny.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old tree had a ____ bark that felt rough to touch.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The rhinoceros is known for its thick skin and the ____ protrusions on its snout.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English horny, equivalent to horn + -y. Compare German hornig. Compare also Dutch hoornachtig, Swedish hornaktig, Old English hyrniġ (“angular”). Piecewise doublet of corny.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Two Dwarfs were at the bellows, another was holding a piece of red-hot metal on the anvil with a pair of tongs, a fourth was hammering it, and two, wiping their horny little hands on a greasy cloth, were coming forward to meet the visitors."
— 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian, Collins, published 1998, Chapter 6:
"She could not see, for her whitish eyes were covered with a horny film."
— 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
"In 1997, 4th and 5th grade Waterville Elementary students told me they saw Short-horned lizards (commonly known as Horny toads) all around their area."
— 2006 January 26, Karen M. Dvornich, “Short-horned Lizard”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 28 Oct 2010:
"[H]er thick, gurgling voice saying […]: "Get it in all the way… please, please do… I’m horny.""
— 1949, Henry Miller, Sexus (The Rosy Crucifixion), Grove Press, published 1965, →ISBN, page 104:
"After a while I sat down in a chair and smoked a couple of cigarettes. I was feeling pretty horny. I have to admit it."
— 1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 82:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old tree had a ____ bark that felt rough to touch.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The rhinoceros is known for its thick skin and the ____ protrusions on its snout.