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 of wooden

• uncomfortable
• clumsy
• uneasy
• awkward
• rustic

Examples of wooden in a Sentence

The guest speaker was wooden and uninspiring.

a movie with wooden dialogue

Recent Examples on the Web

However, the irregular architecture, surviving wooden beams, and 15th-century chapel lend certain spaces genuine local character. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2026

For wooden privacy fencing, the community’s guidelines specify a shadow-box style with dog-ear pickets and require the fence to have the same appearance from both sides. — Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 17 Sep. 2026

In one sequence, Sam stands in the middle of a rope bridge, catching a gold bar thrown at him from one side of a gorge, and then throwing it to the other side quickly enough that the weight of the gold doesn’t snap the precarious wooden planks. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026

Three blocks away, a dent remains in a wooden door from the battering ram agents used to force entry into the home Bryant Najera Gonzalez shared with his parents. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

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