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wavy
1[ wey-vee ]
adjective
- curving alternately in opposite directions; undulating:
a wavy course;
wavy hair.
- abounding in or characterized by waves:
the wavy sea.
- resembling or suggesting waves:
a cotton material with a wavy pattern.
- vibrating or tremulous; wavering; unsteady.
wavy
2[ wey-vee ]
noun
wavy
/ ˈweɪvɪ /
adjective
- abounding in or full of waves
- moving or proceeding in waves or undulations
- (of hair) set in or having waves and curls
- unstable or wavering
Derived Forms
- ˈwavily, adverb
- ˈwaviness, noun
Other Words From
- wavi·ly adverb
- wavi·ness noun
Example Sentences
With wavy blond hair, the Clemson quarterback looks like a California golden boy … and some analysts say he could command $50,000 per Instagram post.
If it sounds a little hand-wavy, that’s because any estimate along these lines is.
The fact that it’s hand-wavy doesn’t mean that liquid phase separation isn’t the key driving force.
We represent electromagnetic interactions as wavy lines connecting charged particles with each other.
If that still sounds hand-wavy, picture a synapse as two extremely intimate communities.
With her sweet smile, rosy cheeks, and wavy white-blond hair, she found money was easy to come by.
Boland is an immature kid with a lean, unsmiling face, ice-blue eyes, and wavy blond hair.
The crowd collectively grooved out in the wavy interpretive dance-esque style that Deadheads do.
Gone are the wavy curls, glistening with sweat and flopping a full second behind his every move.
Perched atop a mountain of wavy, pulled-back hair is a mangled ball of manliness, a holdover from the days of the samurai.
Many of the lines are wavy and irregular and there are no woodcut initials or ornaments of any kind.
The rippled waters between the four walls of the cave were like wavy paving tiles.
A gold fillet, set with another matchless diamond, confined her hair, which fell loosely in wavy tresses round her shoulders.
The other was fair, as fair as can be, with great, wavy masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphires.
He stopped rubbing his wavy hair, which stood up tumbled all over his head, giving him an absurdly boyish, helpless look.
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About This Word
What does wavy mean?
Popularized by hip-hop artist Max B, wavy is slang for something “cool,” “chill,” or “excellent.”
Where does wavy come from?
Between 2006 and 2009, New York City-based rapper Max B released acclaimed mixtapes like Wavie Crockett and Wave Gods in which he coined the terms the wave and wavy into the hip-hop lexicon. In his self-styled slang, Max B’s wave and wavy evoke a mellow feeling of creative energy and positivity, apparently riffing on slang terms like groovy, good vibes, and riding the wave. Other nicknames for Max B play on his signature slang, including Wavy Crockett, the Wavy One, and the Silver Surfer.
The term was soon embraced by rappers/singers like Cam’ron, Jim Jones, French Montana, Ty Dolla Sign, SZA, and Rick Ross, whose prominence helped boost wavy in hip-hop slang, from which it spread into the mainstream.
In January 2016, Kanye West entitled his upcoming album Waves, but fellow rapper and Max B friend Wiz Khalifa took issue. He tweeted “Please don’t take the wave” and “Max B is the wavy one. There is no wave without him.” This sparked a highly publicized feud between the rappers.
Although West eventually changed the title to The Life of Pablo, he gave wavy a considerable shout-out, featuring a voice recording of Max B that anoints West as “a wavy dude” and that he has “the official wave.” This has been interpreted as Max B giving West his blessing to ride the wave, so to speak.
How is wavy used in real life?
Though Max B was incarcerated in 2009, his wave has continued to grow in popularity. Contemporary hip-hop artists regularly make reference to the wave or cite the influence of Max B’s wavy vibes.
From hip-hop, wavy has spread to professional sports and other popular venues. NBA teams like the Toronto Raptors, for example, have notably used the term in social-media promotion. As now used by hip-hop fans and younger, often Black, adults, wavy has come to signify something as “excellent” or “cool” and is used to express various feelings of being “chill” or looking “sexy,” “fresh,” or “suave.”
On social media, wavy is often accompanied by the Water Wave emoji, and people enjoy using the slang while on an actual beach.
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.
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