wooden

adjective

wood·​en ˈwu̇-dᵊn 

1

: made or consisting of wood

2

: lacking ease or flexibility : awkwardly stiff

a wooden speech

a wooden performer

woodenly adverb

woodenness

ˈwu̇-dᵊn-(n)əs 

noun

Did you know?

Humans have been making objects out of wood since before there even was an English language, but the adjectival use of "wood" didn't come into being until the 14th century, and "wooden" didn't appear until the 16th. (The word wood has ancient roots, but it originally existed only as a noun.) In Middle English, the adjective of choice was "tree" or "treen," as in a "tree vessel" or "treen shoes." "Treen" in turn came from the Old English word trēowen, from the noun "trēow" ("tree") and the suffix -en, which was used to indicate that something was composed of a certain material. As far as we know, no one ever used "treen" figuratively to describe things that are stiff as a board, but "wooden" was put to broader use soon after it was first recorded.

Synonyms

• awkward
• clumsy
• gauche
• graceless
• inelegant
• rough-hewn
• rustic
• rustical
• stiff
• stilted
• uncomfortable
• uneasy
• ungraceful

Examples of wooden in a Sentence

The guest speaker was wooden and uninspiring.

a movie with wooden dialogue

Recent Examples on the Web

According to local reports, an unoccupied Waymo vehicle was driving to a passenger pickup location through an alley that was lined on both sides by wooden telephone poles. —Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 12 June 2024

The company’s other spots include Fort Collins’ Old Town Churn, which comes in the shape of a 26-foot-tall wooden ice cream churn bucket, and Dang Soft Serve, one of the only such stores in town. —Jonathan Shikes, The Denver Post, 12 June 2024

The result is a warm and inviting Caribbean retrieve that boasts an alfresco ambiance with glossy wooden tables, woven light fixtures, and vibrant and funky splashes of green and yellow hues bathed in abundant natural light. —Nicole K. Grimes, Travel + Leisure, 8 June 2024

At least 1,100 men, women and children, a majority of them from Central America and Venezuela, had arrived at Senda de Vida, a sprawling respite center consisting of makeshift tents and temporary wooden rooms, with hopes of reaching the United States. —Reyes Mata Iii, New York Times, 8 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing wooden

• wooden Indian

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Kids Definition

wooden

adjective

wood·​en ˈwu̇d-ᵊn 

1

: made of wood

a wooden spoon

2

: lacking in spirit, ease, or charm

written in a wooden style

woodenly adverb

woodenness

-ᵊn-(n)əs 

noun