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.
Synonyms
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
And, yes, like other achievers of a darker hue, Harris has had to overcome the odds and obstacles thrown in her way, such as Conway’s hoary slur that Harris is lazy and doesn’t know how to speak.
—Colbert I. King, Washington Post, 26 July 2024
And Williams is a hoary veteran next to his squad-mate Lamine Yamal, who has yet to turn seventeen.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 29 June 2024
Admittedly, there was less hoary public invocation of the doctrine, but attendance at the periodic summits remained de rigeur for the prime minister.
—Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2016
This revival, despite some big rewrites by Harvey Fierstein, is still stuck around the sort of romantic cliches and hoary old body-image issues that most Broadway musicals strenuously avoid these days.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for hoary 
Colbert I. King, Washington Post, 26 July 2024
And Williams is a hoary veteran next to his squad-mate Lamine Yamal, who has yet to turn seventeen.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 29 June 2024
Admittedly, there was less hoary public invocation of the doctrine, but attendance at the periodic summits remained de rigeur for the prime minister.
—Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2016
This revival, despite some big rewrites by Harvey Fierstein, is still stuck around the sort of romantic cliches and hoary old body-image issues that most Broadway musicals strenuously avoid these days.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for hoary
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hoary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hoary
Cite this Entry
“Hoary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoary. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
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