Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Covered with or overgrown by ivy: Describes buildings, walls, or other structures that are densely adorned or overgrown with the climbing plant ivy.
   • Suggesting tradition, antiquity, or academic prestige: Often used figuratively to evoke the classic, traditional, and historic atmosphere associated with old universities or institutions.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The old, ivied walls of the college gave it a timeless appearance.
  • They walked through the ivied gate into the quiet courtyard.
  • The cottage had an ivied chimney that looked picturesque.

Advanced Usage

• Used figuratively to describe an atmosphere or setting:
  • He longed for the ivied tranquility of a scholarly life. (Here, "ivied" suggests a peaceful, traditional academic environment.)
• Often used in descriptive writing to set a scene:
  • The path led to an ivied ruin, hidden deep in the forest.

Variants and Related Words

• Ivy (n): The evergreen climbing plant itself.
  • Ivy covered the brick wall.
• Ivy-covered (adj): A compound adjective with the same meaning as "ivied."
  • They met in an ivy-covered archway. (Note: "Ivy-covered" is a compound word listed here as a related form.)

Synonyms

• Ivy-clad: Clothed or covered in ivy.
• Vine-covered: Covered with climbing plants or vines (a more general term).

Antonyms

• Bare: Lacking any covering or growth.
• Unadorned: Not decorated; plain.

Notes on Usage

• The word "ivied" is primarily a literary or descriptive adjective. It is not commonly used in everyday casual speech but is frequent in written descriptions of places, especially old buildings, universities, and ruins.
• It is a participial adjective formed from the noun "ivy."

Adjective

1. overgrown with ivy
   • Harvard's ivied buildings