curly

Formscurlier, curliest

Pluralcurlies

1. 1
   adjective

   Shaped in curls or waves, not straight.

   Like a spring that twists round and round instead of lying flat.

   She tied back her thick curly hair before the race.

   The little lamb had a soft, curly coat.

   Similarcurled, wavy, coiled, frizzy

   Oppositestraight

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A person or animal that has curly hair.

   Our dog is a real curly, with tight little curls all over its back.

   He was the only curly among his straight-haired brothers.

3. 3
   adjective

   Of quotation marks or apostrophes, shaped with a curve instead of straight up and down.

   Like a tiny hook shape instead of a straight line.

   The book uses curly quotes instead of plain straight ones.

   Turn on curly apostrophes in your writing settings.

   Similarcurved, smart

   Oppositestraight

   Note
4. 4
   adjectiveAustralia

   Hard to solve because it is complicated and full of problems.

   Like a knot that is hard to untie.

   We ran into a curly problem with the new schedule.

   The teacher asked a curly question that made everyone stop and think.

   Similartricky, thorny, knotty, difficult

   Oppositesimple, easy, straightforward

   Note

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