[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mousy.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / mousy

[← M](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/M/)

# mousy

«mousy» in Mova's school dictionary: **A dull light brown colour, like a mouse** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (mousy or mousey, mousier, mousiest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (of hair) A dull light brown colour, like a mouse. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#m1)

2) (of a person) Quiet, shy and not easily noticed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#m2)

3) Like a mouse or smelling of mice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

Used in stories to describe looks and character: «a mousy little man». In Alice there are many mice; a «mousy» smell can mean mice live in a place. It can sound unkind when said about someone's hair or character, so be careful using it about real people.

### examples

- She had mousy brown hair tied in a ponytail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#x1)
- The new boy was mousy and hardly spoke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#x2)
- The old shed had a mousy smell. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#x3)
- A mousy little clerk sat behind the desk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#x4)
- Don't call people mousy – it can hurt their feelings. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#x5)
- The mousy kitten hid under the sofa. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/#x6)

### note

Both «mousy» and «mousey» are correct. Comparative: mousier, mousiest. Can be unkind about a person.

### In the corpora

- [Taffy «sat mousy-quiet for ten whole minutes» while her Daddy scratched on birch-bark with a shark's tooth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/12/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «mousy» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mousy/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.