horny

American  

[hawr-nee] / ˈhɔr ni /

adjective

hornier, horniest

1. consisting of a horn or a hornlike substance; corneous.

2. having a horn or horns or hornlike projections; horned.

3. hornlike as a result of hardening; callous.

   horny hands.

4. Slang: Vulgar.

   1. lustful.

   2. sexually excited.

5. Archaic. semiopaque or somewhat translucent, like horn.

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horny British  

/ ˈhɔːnɪ /

adjective

1. of, like, or hard as horn

2. having a horn or horns

3. slang

   1. sexually aroused

   2. provoking or intended to provoke sexual arousal

   3. sexually eager or lustful

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Other Word Forms

• hornily
  adverb
• horniness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of horny

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; horn + -y ¹

Explanation

Things that are horny either look like or are made of an animal’s horn or a similar hard material. The thick, hard nail on your big toe could be described as horny. The word horny, describing the bony projection on an animal's head, appeared in English before the 10th century. An informal meaning — that of being sexually aroused — appeared later. Male physical arousal was crudely referred to as "having the horn” in the late 18th century before becoming the word horny in the mid-19th century. First used exclusively for men, the word now describes women's sexual feelings as well.

Example Sentences

The researchers conclude that the creature’s horny helmet was a powerful buttress for jousting with other males, they report today in Science.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 1, 2022

Dr. Turner suggests the meshlike structures closely resemble the fiber networks of modern keratose sponges, also known as horny sponges, found around the world today.

From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2021

But the history of many classic cartoons is not well-documented, he said, and there just might be some tie to the Texas horny toad.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2021

Indeed, the university rescinded admission offers for at least 10 prospective students in 2017 over offensive comments they had made in a private Facebook group called “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens”.

From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2019

We’d catch scorpions and snakes and horny toads.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls