fuzzy

Uncertain. Apparently from fuzz +‎ -y, though some sources suggest that fuzz derives from fuzzy. Compare fozy, or Low German fussig (“loose; spongy”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfʌzi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌzi

fuzzy (comparative fuzzier, superlative fuzziest)

1. Covered with fuzz or a large number of tiny loose fibres like a carpet or many stuffed animals
2. Vague or imprecise.

   My recollection of that event is fuzzy.

3. Not clear; unfocused.

   I finally threw out a large stack of fuzzy photos.

• (covered with fuzz):
• (vague or imprecise): ambiguous, equivocal; see also Thesaurus:vague
• (not clear): blurry, fuzzy, ill-defined; see also Thesaurus:indistinct

fuzzy (plural fuzzies)

1. (often in the plural) A very small piece of plush material.

   You've got a fuzzy on your coat.

2. Something covered with fuzz or hair, as an animal or plush toy.
   • 2000, Kim Schilling, Ferrets for Dummies, New York: Wiley, →ISBN, page 1:

     If you don't yet have a ferret, this book can help you decide whether a fuzzy is for you.

3. (slang) A person, especially a college student, interested in humanities or social sciences, as opposed to one interested in mathematics, science, or engineering.
   • 2010, Donald Barr, Questioning the Premedical Paradigm: Enhancing Diversity in the Medical Profession a Century after the Flexner Report, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 2:

     A "fuzzy" on the other hand is a "people person," — someone who prefers studying the humanities or social sciences, someone who sees the world in broad contextual terms.

4. (slang, military) A soldier with the rank of private.

• warm fuzzy

• fuzzy, adj. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
• fuzzy. Frederick C. Mish (Editor in Chief), Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Merriam-Webster, 1994. OCLC 329147359