tousy

tousy

Her tousy hair blew in the wind as she walked.

Definition

Adjective: Describing hair that is tangled, messy, or disheveled; often used to indicate an unkempt or unruly appearance.

Usage Examples
  • (Her hair was messy and tangled.)
  • (The child's hair was disheveled and uncombed.)
Advanced Usage
  • "to look tousy": to appear untidy or unkempt.
    • After the long hike, everyone looked tousy and tired. (Everyone appeared disheveled.)
  • "a tousy head": a head of hair that is messy or tangled.
    • He had a tousy head of hair that never stayed in place. (His hair was perpetually messy.)
Variants and Related Words
  • Tousle (verb): to make (hair) untidy.
    • She tousled his hair playfully. (She made his hair messy.)
  • Tousled (adjective): messy or disheveled, especially of hair.
    • He had a tousled appearance after the nap. (He looked untidy.)
Synonyms
  • Disheveled: (of a person's hair, clothes, or appearance) untidy; disordered.
  • Unkempt: (especially of hair) not combed or cared for; messy.
  • Tangled: twisted together in a messy mass.
Related Idioms
  • "a tousy look": an intentionally or unintentionally messy hairstyle or appearance.
    • She adopted a tousy look for the casual party. (She chose a deliberately messy style.)
Notes on Usage
  • is a less common word than , but both describe messy hair. It is often used in informal or descriptive writing.
  • The word is primarily used to describe hair, not clothing or general appearance.