HORNY (hornier, horniest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: hornier    , horniest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does horny mean? 

• HORNY (adjective)
  The adjective HORNY has 3 senses:

1. feeling great sexual desire

2. having horns or hornlike projections

3. made of horn (or of a substance resembling horn)

  Familiarity information: HORNY used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HORNY (adjective)

Comparative: hornier   
Superlative: horniest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feeling great sexual desire

Synonyms:

aroused; horny; randy; ruttish; steamy; turned on

Context example:

feeling horny

Similar:

sexy (marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest)

Derivation:

horniness (a state of sexual arousal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having horns or hornlike projections

Context example:

horny (or horned) frog

Similar:

horned (having a horn or horns or hornlike parts or horns of a particular kind)

Derivation:

horn (one of the bony outgrowths on the heads of certain ungulates)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Made of horn (or of a substance resembling horn)

Synonyms:

corneous; hornlike; horny

Similar:

hard (resisting weight or pressure)

Derivation:

horn (the material (mostly keratin) that covers the horns of ungulates and forms hooves and claws and nails)

 Context examples 

It consists of the following layers: stratum corneum (horny layer), stratum granulosum (granular layer), stratum spinosum (prickle cell layer), and stratum basale (basal cell layer).

(Epidermis, NCI Thesaurus)

I passed my hand over the horny projections, and my teeth went on edge once more from the horrible rasping sensation produced.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Epidermal cells which synthesize keratin and undergo characteristic changes as they move upward from the basal layers of the epidermis to the cornified (horny) layer of the skin.

(Keratinocyte, NCI Thesaurus)

At the time I never questioned that it had spurted from some stricken Frenchman or Spaniard, and I shrank from him in terror when he laid his horny hand upon my head.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Any horny growth such as a wart or callus.

(Keratosis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The family represents the principal constituent of epidermis, hair, nails, horny tissues, and the organic matrix of tooth enamel.

(Cytokeratin, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Any of several small, burrowing, chiefly nocturnal mammals with body covered with strong horny plates.

(Armadillo, NCI Thesaurus)

These proteins are the main component of intermediate filaments in the epidermis, hair, nails, horny tissues, and the organic matrix of tooth enamel.

(Cytokeratin, NCI Thesaurus)

She put her floury and horny hand into mine; another and heartier smile illumined her rough face, and from that moment we were friends.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)