pilous

9.9

Having fine soft hairs on a surface

adjective
/ˈpɪləs/

Specialized

: piloso

The leaves of the plant are pilous, giving them a soft, velvety texture.

Examples

This sweater is made from pilous wool.
Some caterpillars have a pilous body that protects them from predators.
Under the microscope, the insect's legs appeared distinctly pilous.
The pilous fabric felt soft against my skin.
The leaves of the plant are pilous, giving them a soft, velvety texture.
Some caterpillars have a pilous body that protects them from predators.
Under the microscope, the insect's legs appeared distinctly pilous.

Synonyms

fuzzy

vspilous

44 1.1

Covered with soft light hairs like kitten fur

is narrower, meaning specifically covered by fine soft hairs

pilose

vspilous

Specialized

9.9

A surface with fine, soft hairs like a furry leaf

has identical meaning but differs only as a variant form

pilary

vspilous

9.9

A surface covered in many short soft hairs

has identical meaning but exists as another variant form

fuzzed

vspilous

5.9

With a surface covered in fine soft hairs

expresses the same hairy covering but without stressing downy texture

ciliated

vspilous

Specialized

8.2

Having many small hairs on a surface, like some cells, that move things

refers to larger soft hairs rather than microscopic projections

Antonyms

bald

280 1.0

Having little or no hair on the head

hairless

26 1.7

Having no fur or small threads that grow on the skin

How Hairy

shaggy

22 3.2

hairy

134 1.0

pilous

Specialized

9.9

downy

4 4.2

smooth

256 1.0

bare

217 2.2

Surface Forms

pilous positive

Morphology

pilous = pilose (semi-transparent) = pil + ous

Formed by the rare root 'pil-' plus the productive adjective suffix '-ous'; the structure is regular but the root is low-frequency and often technical.

Etymology

Pilous comes from the old Latin root pil- meaning 'hair'. A helpful image is the soft raised pile on velvet or a furry caterpillar. That's why pilous means 'covered with hairs'.