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gray-haired

gray-haired

12 1.1
Having hair that is gray or white because of age
  • adjective
  • /ɡreɪˈhɛrd/
  • US
translation icon : canoso
  • The gray-haired teacher shared stories from his long career with the students.
  • a gray-haired man
  • a gray-haired woman

Also, in many cases, it's it's based on consensus, which means that a bunch of Gray haired doctors with long white coats got in the room and they voted.

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Examples

  • At the door, she peered into the hall, seeing several nurses but not the gray-haired one.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Seated on a Mission-style Napoleon chair, a gray-haired African American woman faces the camera.

    Academic text (2004)
  • What a wonderful thing to say about a gray-haired old woman!

    Fiction book (1992)
  • That gray-haired man you spoke to, he seemed like such an honest citizen.

  • Geneva said, "The gray-haired one, in the jumpsuit, two from your left end."

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The man was short and stocky, gray-haired, and wearing a fedora.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Behind us, a gray-haired woman turns from the stacks of new arrivals.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The clerk, a gray-haired man in a bow tie, winked when he handed her the bag.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Hilda Pierce meets me at her apartment door, small, gray-haired, and brisk, with aviator glasses.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • When Teijgeler, a slight, middle-aged, gray-haired man, approached the podium, he took off his glasses and paused.

    Academic text (2007)

Synonyms

gray
vsgray-haired
  • US
148 1.0

Having white or silver hair from age

focuses specifically on pale hair as a marker of age
white-haired
vsgray-haired
12 1.7

A person who has hair that is white, usually because they are old

is the general term for pale hair resulting from getting older
grizzled
vsgray-haired
11 6.7

Hair that is mixed with grey or white

refers to uniformly pale hair as a simple sign of aging
silver-haired
vsgray-haired
3 2.7

A person who has hair that is gray or white, usually because they are older

is the general term for pale hair resulting from getting older
hoary
vsgray-haired
1 8.9

Having grey or white hair that shows old age

is the neutral, common way to describe pale aged hair
gray-headed
vsgray-haired
  • US
1 4.4

Having mostly white hair because a person is older

is the general term for pale hair resulting from getting older
hoar
vsgray-haired
  • Archaic
9.9

Having grey or white hair that shows old age

is the common modern phrase rather than an archaic one

Antonyms

85 3.1

Having the energy and fresh look of a young person

How Gray

gray-haired
  • US
12 1.1
white-haired
12 1.7

Surface Forms

gray-haired positive

Morphology

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

Meaning is directly and compositionally derived: 'gray' + 'haired' = having hair that is gray.

Etymology

The word gray-haired is made of gray (the color hair often gets with age) and haired ('having hair'), so it simply means someone whose hair is gray, a common sign of getting older.