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dandruffy

dandruffy

1 5.3
Having small white flakes on the scalp or hair
  • adjective
  • /ˈdændrəfi/
  • Informal
: con caspa
  • The old man's hair was so dandruffy that it left white flakes on his shoulders.

Examples

  • It's all dandruffy, and it smells.

  • The dandruffy aide's superior was indeed that: superior.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • All I can see of her is the wide graying part in her hair, her foreshortened forehead, and the dandruffy rims of her thick glasses.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • "Try to save a few till I get back," Dazzle concluded softly through the swirling haze of dandruffy dog hairs.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • After using the new shampoo, I noticed my scalp became less dandruffy and more healthy.

  • She was embarrassed by how dandruffy her hair looked during the meeting.

How Flaky

scaly
16 3.3
flaky
12 3.2
dandruffy
  • Informal
1 5.3
clean
358 1.0

Surface Forms

dandruffy positive

Morphology

dandruffy = dandruff (transparent) = dandruff + y

Productive adjective formation from the noun 'dandruff' with '-y'; meaning 'having dandruff' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Dandruffy comes from dandruff, an old word for the small white flakes of skin on the scalp, plus the ending -y which means 'full of', like in rainy or hairy. So dandruffy literally means 'full of dandruff', which is why we use it for hair or a scalp that shows visible flakes.