hoarier; hoariest
1
a
: no longer humorous, interesting, or meaningful due to repetition over time : hackneyed
hoary clichés
You can't fight city hall, says the hoary adage.—
Jack Kroll
Jack Kroll
b
: extremely old : ancient
hoary legends
Of all the hoary old monsters, dragons are the most persistent, appearing everywhere from mall crystal shops to Disney movies.—Donald G. McNeil, Jr.
Donald G. McNeil, Jr.2
a
: gray or white with or as if with age
bowed his hoary head
The trees in the orchard were hoary with lichen …—Christine Schutt
Christine Schutt
b
botany
: covered with fine grayish or whitish hairs : canescent
hoary leaves
hoariness
noun
Did you know?
Hoary is an Old English word that comes from hoar, which shares its meanings. Both words refer to anything that is old or that has the whitened look of age.
Examples of hoary in a Sentence
a hoary tale of revenge
He bowed his hoary head.
a man hoary with age
Recent Examples on the Web
Every year, the show’s producers try to think of new ways to celebrate movies, but the hoariest methods are usually best.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2025
The 1922 German expressionist film cribbed the plot of Stoker’s Dracula (with some alterations) and created the first horror-movie masterpiece, conjuring a unique take on one of the genre’s hoariest texts.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Scarpa also wrote Scott’s J. Paul Getty fictionalization All the Money in the World, Napoleon, and the military-power allegory The Last Castle, but timely political coincidences sustain this otherwise hoary tale.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Dec. 2024
Sir Flaps-a-Lot’s contest rival Hoary Potter and the Guano of Fire, who hails from Oregon is, as its name suggests, a hoary bat.
—Leslie Katz, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hoary
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David Sims, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2025
The 1922 German expressionist film cribbed the plot of Stoker’s Dracula (with some alterations) and created the first horror-movie masterpiece, conjuring a unique take on one of the genre’s hoariest texts.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Scarpa also wrote Scott’s J. Paul Getty fictionalization All the Money in the World, Napoleon, and the military-power allegory The Last Castle, but timely political coincidences sustain this otherwise hoary tale.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Dec. 2024
Sir Flaps-a-Lot’s contest rival Hoary Potter and the Guano of Fire, who hails from Oregon is, as its name suggests, a hoary bat.
—Leslie Katz, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hoary
Cite this Entry
“Hoary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoary. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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