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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 of wooden
Examples of wooden in a Sentence
Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
But Kelly can’t summon interior weight, so the breakdown reads as wooden and childlike rather than wrenching.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2026
This is a Michelin Key property where reclaimed water tower wood warms the walls, James Beard–award-winning cuisine anchors evenings, and Central Park unfolds just beyond those sculptural wooden doors.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
According to those reports, during her arrest in December, she was beaten repeatedly with wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, sustaining injuries that left open wounds on her head.
—Jomana Karadsheh, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wooden
Cite this Entry
“Wooden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wooden. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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