frizz

/fɹɪz/

frizz means of hair, to form into a mass of tight curls.

frizz is pronounced /fɹɪz/.

Etymology

From Middle English frysen, from Old French friser, frizer (“to frizzle, crisp, curl, ruffle, braid, touch lightly, graze, scratch”), of Proto-Germanic origin, perhaps via Old Frankish *fris (“curl”), from Proto-Germanic *frisaz (“frizzy, curly”). Cognate with Old Frisian frisle, frēsle ("the hair of the head, lock of hair, curl, ringlet"; > North Frisian friessle, fressle (“hair, horse's tail”), West Frisian frisseljen (“braid of hair, braid”)), Old English frīs (“crisped, curled”).

verb

Of hair, to form into a mass of tight curls.
To curl; to make frizzy.e.g.“with her hair frized short up to her ears” — 1660 December 1 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “November 22nd, 1660”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume I, Lond
To form into little burs, knobs, or tufts, as the nap of cloth.
To make (leather) soft and of even thickness by rubbing, as with pumice stone or a blunt instrument.
To fry, cook, or sear with a sizzling noise; to sizzle.

noun

A mass of tightly curled or unruly hair.

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

frizzy 82% match — Formed of a mass of small, tight, wiry curls; unruly or extending in all directions. vs frizz →
frizzed 75% match — frizzy vs frizz →
frizzies 74% match — Unkempt curly hair, especially of women. vs frizz →
frizzly 74% match — Having small, tight curls; frizzy. vs frizz →
frizzled 72% match — Of feathers, hair, etc.: crisped or curled; crinkled, frizzed; also, of a person's head, etc.: covered with curled hair, or something similar to that. vs frizz →
unfrizz 70% match — To remove the curls from (hair). vs frizz →
defrizz 69% match — To remove the frizz from (hair). vs frizz →
frizette 64% match — A fringe of hair or curls around a woman's forehead. vs frizz →