# Rory

/ˈɹɔɹi/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/rory
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. covered in dew

adjective · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

covered with tiny drops of water that form on grass and leaves during the night.

For teachers: covered with dew; dewy. This sense is obsolete and restricted to historical or highly stylised literary contexts.

- The poet described the rory grass in the early hours of the morning.
- The manuscript contained a vivid description of the rory meadows, capturing the damp chill of a sixteenth-century English dawn.

Usage: Used almost exclusively in archaic poetry or historical linguistics.

### 2. gaudy or tasteless

adjective · CEFR C2 · Archaic

having colours that are too bright or showy in a way that looks cheap or bad.

For teachers: characterised by gaudy, tasteless, or unsubtle colours. This usage is obsolete and no longer found in contemporary standard English.

- He wore a rory waistcoat that made everyone at the party stare.
- Critics of the era often dismissed his later paintings as rory, citing an over-reliance on aggressive and unblended pigments.

Teaching tip: This sense is obsolete; modern speakers would use 'garish' or 'gaudy' instead.

## Examples

- The rory grass sparkled in the early morning sun.
- We walked through the rory meadows before the sun had a chance to dry the ground.
- The poet described the rory leaves of the orchard, capturing a fleeting moment of dawn before the heat of the day set in.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.