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Glite Dictionary
wire-haired

wire-haired

4.2
With stiff, coarse hair often describing dogs
  • adjective
  • /ˈwaɪərˌhɛrd/
translation icon : de pelo duro
  • The wire-haired terrier is known for its distinctive rough coat that requires regular grooming.
  • wire-haired terrier

Examples

  • Many hunters prefer wire-haired dogs because their coats provide protection in thick brush and rough terrain.

  • Well, it might have been a wire-haired terrier, Detective.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • We held each other, pulled each other half off her couch, laughing at some movie about a high-class detective with a wire-haired terrier.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • He's got some wire-haired something in him, but a big head like a Basset mixed with an Airedale and a million other things.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Pansy, the little curly-haired dog she kept, a cross between a poodle and a wire-haired terrier, had taken refuge under the couch and, looking at Alta with brown eyes that seemed full of the light of tragedy, still refused to come out.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • At the dog show, the judge praised the wire-haired breed for its unique texture and playful personality.

Synonyms

wiry
vswire-haired
4 3.2

Hair that is stiff and coarse and feels hard like metal

is the same idea but used especially for dogs
wiry-coated
vswire-haired
5.9

Having short, stiff hair that feels rough like wire, especially on some dogs

is used mainly for dogs rather than for any animal
stiff-haired
vswire-haired
5.8

Having hair that is stiff and rough when touched

is thinner and feels like thin metal strands rather than general stiffness
coarse-haired
vswire-haired
5.1

Has thick, rough fur or a stiff coat

is thinner and more like thin metal strands than merely thick texture
coarse-furred
vswire-haired
6.6

Having rough fur that does not feel soft

is stiffer and more like thin metal strands than simply rough fur

Antonyms

smooth
256 1.0

A surface that is even and not rough

soft-haired
1.6

An animal or body part with hair that feels soft when you touch it

How Wiry

wire-haired
4.2

Surface Forms

wire-haired positive

Morphology

wire-haired = wire + haired (transparent) = wire + hair + ed

The adjective is a straightforward compound of 'wire' + 'haired' meaning 'having hair like wire', which is directly inferable from its parts.

Etymology

Wire-haired comes from wire, meaning 'a thin metal string', and -haired, meaning 'having hair'. It describes animals whose coat is stiff and rough like wires, so you can remember that wire-haired dogs have coarse, wiry fur.