beady
adjUK /ˈbiː.di/ · US /ˈbi.di/
Etymology From bead + -y.
1
Resembling beads; small, round, and gleaming.
- seeing Mrs. Bute's beady eyes1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 19, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
- I shivered in every limb, and a cold beady dew sprang out on my temples as I stood with eyes riveted on the spectral figure before me.1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
2
Bright and penetrating. (of eyes or a look)
- Cracked eggs, dead birds, scream as they fight for life / I can feel death, can see its beady eyes1996, Radiohead, “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”, in The Bends:
3
Covered or ornamented with, or as if with, beads.
4
Characterized by beads.
- beady liquor
- Related terms
- beady-eyed, beadies