ligneous

/ˈlig-nē-əs/ (ame, mw)

ligneous — adjective

  • ligneouspositive
  • more ligneouscomparative
  • most ligneoussuperlative

1. describing something that has the hard structure, surface, or appearance of wood

1.形容詞C2
釋義

describing something that has the hard structure, surface, or appearance of wood

例句

The field guide described the shrub's lower stems as ligneous by late summer.

botanical description: ligneous stems in formal writing

Arjun touched the dry vine and felt its ligneous surface near the gate.

attributive use before a material noun

同義詞
  • woody

    the common everyday adjective, especially for plants and smells; less formal than 'ligneous'

  • wooden

    the normal word for objects made of wood, not a scientific label for plant tissue

  • hard-stemmed

    a descriptive phrase for plants with firm stems, but less precise and less technical than 'ligneous'

反義詞
  • herbaceous

    used for plants with soft green stems rather than woody tissue

  • soft-stemmed

    describes stems that stay soft instead of becoming wood-like

文法句型

ligneous + noun

be/become/look + ligneous

用法筆記

Mostly found in scientific, botanical, or literary writing. In everyday English, people usually say 'wooden' for ordinary objects and 'woody' for plants, smells, or flavours.

常見錯誤

❌I bought a ligneous chair for the kitchen.
✅I bought a wooden chair for the kitchen.
💡'ligneous' is too formal and technical for ordinary household objects.
❌The wine had a ligneous smell.
✅The wine had a woody smell.
💡'woody' is the natural everyday word for smells and flavours that remind you of wood.