Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having open interstices or resembling a web: Describes something that is structured with a network of fine, interconnected threads or gaps, similar to a spider's web or other mesh-like formations.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The old fence was covered in a webby layer of frost.
  • The fungus had a delicate, webby structure under the microscope.
  • She brushed away the webby threads from the corner of the window.

Advanced Usage

• Technical/Descriptive Use: Often used in scientific, botanical, or descriptive writing to characterize textures and structures.
  • The geologist noted the rock's webby veins of quartz.
• Figurative Use: Can describe abstract networks or interconnected systems in a metaphorical sense.
  • A webby network of alliances connected the ancient city-states.

Variants and Related Words

• Webbed (adj): Having the fingers or toes connected by a membrane (e.g., a duck's foot). This is a distinct, more common term.
• Weblike (adj): Closely synonymous, meaning resembling a web.
• Cobwebby (adj): Specifically resembling or full of cobwebs (old spider webs).

Synonyms

• Filamentous: Consisting of thin threads.
• Reticulate: Arranged or marked like a net or network.
• Gossamer: Very light, delicate, and insubstantial, like a spider's web.

Antonyms

• Solid: Firm and stable in shape; not loose or fluid.
• Dense: Closely compacted in substance.
• Opaque: Not able to be seen through; not transparent or translucent.

Notes on Meaning

• The primary meaning is physical and descriptive, focusing on a mesh-like, often delicate, structure. It is a relatively uncommon adjective.

Adjective

1. having open interstices or resembling a web