Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Consisting of, containing, or resembling fibers: Describes a material or structure that is made up of or has the stringy, thread-like qualities of fibers.
   • Full of tough, stringy tissue; difficult to chew: Specifically used to describe meat or food that is tough because it contains many sinews or fibers.

Examples of Usage

• General Use (Consisting of fibers):
  • The coconut has a fibrous husk that is used to make rope.
  • Asbestos is a dangerous fibrous mineral.
• Specific Use (Tough, stringy):
  • The steak was too fibrous and difficult to eat.
  • The old celery stalk had become fibrous and unpalatable.

Advanced Usage

• In Botany/Anatomy: Used to describe tissues with a thread-like structure.
  • The root system of the plant is fibrous, spreading out widely just below the soil surface.
• In Material Science: Describes the physical composition of a substance.
  • The composite material is reinforced with fibrous carbon strands.

Variants and Related Words

• Fiber (noun): A thread or filament from which a vegetable tissue, mineral substance, or textile is formed.
  • Dietary fiber is important for digestion.
• Fibrosis (noun): The thickening and scarring of connective tissue, usually as a result of injury.
  • Pulmonary fibrosis is a serious lung condition.

Synonyms

• Stringy: Having a texture full of string-like fibers (often for food).
• Tough: Difficult to cut or chew; not tender.
• Fibroid: Resembling or forming fibers (often used in medical contexts, e.g., fibroid tumor).

Antonyms

• Tender: Easy to cut or chew; soft.
• Smooth: Having an even, regular surface; free from perceptible projections or fibers.

Related Phrases/Compounds

• Fibrous tissue: Biological tissue made up of collagen fibers, such as tendons and ligaments.
  • The injury damaged the fibrous tissue in his knee.
• Fibrous root: A root system composed of many thin, branching roots of similar size (contrasted with a taproot).
  • Grasses typically have a fibrous root system.

Adjective

1. (of meat) full of sinews; especially impossible to chew
2. having or resembling fibers especially fibers used in making cordage such as those of jute