woolly-headed

/ˌwʊliˈhɛdɪd/

//ˌwʊliˈhɛdɪd// adj

"woolly-headed" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“woolly-headed” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of nappy: having tightly curled and frizzy hair.

Corpus desk

Index EN-woolly-headed · woolly-headed · English

woolly-headed · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "W" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for woolly-headed
PropertyValue
Headwordwoolly-headed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌwʊliˈhɛdɪd/
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “woolly-headed” in English

woolly-headedranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

woolly-headed is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌwʊliˈhɛdɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for woolly-headed in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is woolly-headed, spelled W-O-O-L-L-Y---H-E-A-D-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of nappy: having tightly curled and frizzy hair.
  2. 2
    Synonym of fuzzy-headed: characterized by vague or confused thinking, dull-witted.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The Blacks in Guinea are Woolly-headed.

Synonyms

woolly-patedwool-patedfoolish & Thesaurus:stupid

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "woolly-headed"?
"woolly-headed" is spelled W-O-O-L-L-Y---H-E-A-D-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌwʊliˈhɛdɪd/.
What does "woolly-headed" mean?
As an adjective, "woolly-headed" means: Synonym of nappy: having tightly curled and frizzy hair.
How do you pronounce "woolly-headed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "woolly-headed" is /ˌwʊliˈhɛdɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "woolly-headed" come from?
"woolly-headed" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list