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ropy

ropy

1 7.9
Like long thin threads that stretch and feel sticky
  • adjective
  • /ˈroʊpi/
translation icon : fibroso
  • She'd already told him she didn't like it, but in the mornings, before he went to work, he would come up behind her and cradle her shoulders in his ropy arms.
  • ropy hair
  • ropy scar
  • long, ropy

Examples

  • Her arms were toned, with ropy muscles that showed her dedication to working out.

  • The old rope had a ropy texture, making it difficult to hold tightly.

  • Some were medieval, with straight, ropy hair and chiseled faces, sharp as an ax.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • "the ropy knots of cheese that gather to a chewy perfection...

  • A look of disgust creeps across his features, settling finally into the ropy bulge of his lower lip.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Bolinop put out a long, ropy love tentacle to touch the antenna of Rokey's skinsuit.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • It was a boy, with the exaggerated genitals of the neonate, and its long, ropy umbilical cord dragged down into the shadows beneath the trash.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • He trimmed the ropy vines that were taking over the garden.

Synonyms

thready
vsropy
8 7.9

Being thin and like a small string

is thicker and more cordlike or viscous than this fine form
stringy
vsropy
4 3.3

Having long thin strands that stretch like melted cheese

focuses more on thicker, cordlike or sticky thread qualities
threadlike
vsropy
1 4.2

Very thin and long like a single hair

is thicker and may include sticky or braided qualities
filamentous
vsropy
1 8.2

Thin and long like a thread or hair

is thicker and suggests sticky or cordlike textures instead
rope-like
vsropy
3.3

Long, twisted, and strong like a thick cord

is broader, also covering sticky or thin thread like textures
ropey
vsropy
  • UK
9.3

Forming thick, sticky threads when moved or pulled

is less about viscosity and more about general cordlike appearance
stickly
vsropy
8.4

Having a wet, glue like feel that makes things stay on it

is about appearance as cordlike or threadlike rather than only stickiness

How Stringy

ropy
1 7.9
stringy
4 3.3
sticky
126 1.0
smooth
1 5.8

Surface Forms

ropy positive

Morphology

ropy = rope (transparent) = rope + y

Standard adjectival formation from 'rope' + '-y' meaning 'resembling or having qualities of rope', directly inferable from the base.

Etymology

Ropy comes from rope plus the ending -y, meaning 'like rope'. So it describes things that look or feel stringy or sticky, like melted cheese or overworked dough.