Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Having grey or white hair; hoary: Describes someone or something, especially hair or fur, that is streaked with or has turned grey or white, typically due to age.

2. Noun:

   • A large, powerful bear of western North America: Refers specifically to a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), characterized by its brownish-yellow to dark brown fur, often with white-tipped hairs giving a grizzled appearance, and a distinctive shoulder hump.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The old sailor had a grizzly beard that spoke of his many years at sea.
  • Her hair, once dark, was now grizzly with streaks of silver.

• Noun:

  • Hikers in the park were warned about the presence of a grizzly.
  • The grizzly is one of North America's most iconic and formidable land predators.

Advanced Usage

• "Grizzly" as an adjective can be used metaphorically to describe things that are old, venerable, or showing signs of age.
  • The grizzly ruins of the castle stood as a testament to centuries past.
• In ecological and wildlife contexts, the noun is often part of formal names or discussions about conservation.
  • The grizzly bear population in the Yellowstone ecosystem is carefully monitored.

Variants and Related Words

• Grizzled (adj): Having grey or white hair; streaked with grey. Often used interchangeably with the adjective form of "grizzly."
  • He was a grizzled veteran of the war.
• Grizzly bear (n compound): The full common name for the animal. (Note: This is a compound term; the target word "grizzly" alone can function as the noun.)
• Grizzliness (n, rare): The state or quality of being grizzly (grey) or grizzled.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Hoary, grey, silvered, grizzled, white-haired.
• Noun: Brown bear, silvertip bear, North American brown bear. (Note: "Grizzly" is a specific subspecies; "brown bear" is the broader species term.)

Related Phrases and Collocations

• Grizzly attack: An attack by a grizzly bear.
  • Surviving a grizzly attack requires specific knowledge.
• Grizzly country: Terrain or regions inhabited by grizzly bears.
  • When in grizzly country, always carry bear spray.

Idioms

• While there are no common idioms using the word "grizzly" itself, the animal features in cultural expressions.
  • "Loaded for bear" (idiom): To be fully prepared for a serious challenge or confrontation, often alluding to being armed for hunting large game like a grizzly.

    • He went into the negotiation loaded for bear.

Adjective

1. showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair
   • whose beard with age is hoar-Coleridge
   • nodded his hoary head

Noun

1. powerful brownish-yellow bear of the uplands of western North America