CURLY (curlier, curliest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: curlier    , curliest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does curly mean? 

• CURLY (adjective)
  The adjective CURLY has 1 sense:

1. (of hair) having curls or waves

  Familiarity information: CURLY used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CURLY (adjective)

Comparative: curlier   
Superlative: curliest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of hair) having curls or waves

Context example:

they envied her naturally curly hair

Similar:

curled; curling ((of hair) making curls or having been made to curl)

crisp; frizzly; frizzy; kinky; nappy ((of hair) in small tight curls)

permed ((of hair) styled with permanent waves)

ringleted ((of hair) shaped into ringlets)

wavy ((of hair) having waves)

Attribute:

curliness; waviness ((of hair) a tendency to curl)

Antonym:

straight ((of hair) having no waves or curls)

Derivation:

curl (a strand or cluster of hair)

curliness ((of hair) a tendency to curl)

 Context examples 

Curly and he were taken below by Perrault and turned over to a black-faced giant called François.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Then I sat down in my shady corner, looking up at the sunlight on the opposite chimney-pots, and thinking about Dora; until Mr. Spenlow came in, crisp and curly.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The profuse coat varies from wavy to curly and comes in any color, including cream, gold, white, silver, blue, and black.

(Havanese, NCI Thesaurus)

The hair is long and wavy, but not curly.

(Low Chen, NCI Thesaurus)

The Irish Water Spaniel is the largest of the spaniels with a solid brown (leaning to purple), crisp-textured, and curly coat.

(Irish Water Spaniel, NCI Thesaurus)

Curly black hair, brown skin, big black eyes, handsome nose, fine teeth, small hands and feet, taller than I am, very polite, for a boy, and altogether jolly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The Curly-Coated Retriever is a large, athletic retriever with a distinctive crisp curly coat.

(Curly-Coated Retriever, NCI Thesaurus)

The Bedlington Terrier has a pear-shaped head, arched back and a thick, curly double coat that comes in a blue, liver, or sandy color.

(Bedlington Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)

Up went hundreds of curly brimmed Corinthian hats into the air, and the slope before us was a bank of flushed and yelling faces.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Du Guesclin eyed her keenly from time to time, and passed his broad brown fingers through his crisp, curly black hair with the air of a man who is perplexed in his mind.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)