hoary

/hɔː.ɹi/

//hɔː.ɹi// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hoary" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hoary” is uncommon English (frequency #67,505 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,505
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - White, whitish, or greyish-white.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hoary · hoary · English

hoary · rank #67,505 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,505
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH histrionic

Nearest frequency peer: histrionic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “hoary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “hoary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hoary
PropertyValue
Headwordhoary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/hɔː.ɹi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#67,505
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hoary” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hoaryfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “histrionic” (#67,504), “Hoffenheim” (#67,506), “hiragana” (#67,503). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hoary” is #67,505. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hoary is uncommon English at frequency #67,505 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /hɔː.ɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for hoary, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly from Middle English *hori (suggested by horilocket (“hoary-locked, having hoary locks or curls”)), equivalent to hoar + -y. Alternatively, Middle English horilocket may represent Middle English hor (“hoar, hoary”) + ilocket (“locked”) rather than h… The correct English form is hoary, spelled H-O-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    White, whitish, or greyish-white.
  2. 2
    White or grey with age.
  3. 3
    Of a pale silvery grey.
  4. 4
    Covered with short, dense, greyish white hairs.
  5. 5
    Old or old-fashioned; trite.
  6. 6
    Remote in time past.
  7. 7
    Moldy; mossy; musty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hoary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. As hoary frost with spangles doth attire, The mossy braunches of an oke halfe ded,
  2. But hoary Winter, unadorn'd and bare, Dwells in the dire Retreat, and freezes there.

Etymology

Possibly from Middle English *hori (suggested by horilocket (“hoary-locked, having hoary locks or curls”)), equivalent to hoar + -y. Alternatively, Middle English horilocket may represent Middle English hor (“hoar, hoary”) + ilocket (“locked”) rather than hori (“hoary”) + locket (“locked”).

This word in other languages

cano(Español)chenu(Français)altersgrau(Deutsch)grisalho(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hoary"?
"hoary" is spelled H-O-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /hɔː.ɹi/.
What does "hoary" mean?
As an adjective, "hoary" means: White, whitish, or greyish-white.
How do you pronounce "hoary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hoary" is /hɔː.ɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hoary"?
Possibly from Middle English *hori (suggested by horilocket (“hoary-locked, having hoary locks or curls”)), equivalent to hoar + -y. Alternatively, Middle English horilocket may represent Middle English hor (“hoar, hoary”) + ilocket (“locked”) rat... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hoary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hoody#67,511gyros#67,491grump#67,490frosh#67,464

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list