wooden

1 of 2

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

woodenness

2 of 2

noun

wood·​en·​ness -ᵊn(n)ə̇s 

plural -es

: the quality or state of being wooden

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

Adjective

• uncomfortable
• clumsy
• uneasy
• awkward
• rustic

Examples of wooden in a Sentence

Adjective

The guest speaker was wooden and uninspiring.

a movie with wooden dialogue

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Pale olive-green lattice doors led to the bathroom, which had a stand-alone bathtub with a wooden reading caddy, a Toto toilet, and Dusit’s own bath amenities by Devarana. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026

Beneath Rocks and Bricks Slugs, snails, and various insects will sometimes also use rocks, bricks, garden bed edging, wooden boards, and other hard surfaces for shelter until spring. — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 6 Nov. 2026

The large wooden desk is framed by a bookshelf painted pastel robin’s egg blue, and an antique cabinet that stands on tall spindly legs, its doors open, revealing rows of small, narrow dividers for sorting mail or paperwork. — Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2026

The 12-chamber mosque is carved into the rock, and a shaft of daylight is cast onto two sacred wooden poles below. — Avantika Chaturvedi, Architectural Digest, 5 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

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