dunny
/ˈdʌni/
dunny adjective: somewhat dun, dusky brownish. Also the alternative form of danna.
Adjective (1)
Adjective (2)
dunny (comparative dunnier, superlative dunniest)
- Somewhat deaf, hard of hearing.
- Dunny, somewhat deaf, deafish.1708, J. Kersey, Dictionary Anglo-Britannicum
- Slow to answer: stupid, unintelligent.
- What the devil are you dunny? won't you give me no answer?a. 1791, F. Grose, Olio, p. 105
Noun (1)
dunny (plural dunnies)
- A dummy, an unintelligent person.
- Should a School-boy do so, he'd be whip'd for a Dunny.1709, British Apollo, Vol. II, No. 29, p. 3
Noun (2)
dunny (plural dunnies)
- An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
- "I've got one of those outside dunnies here, hasn't been emptied for six months and I ran out of sawdust three months ago."1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 106
- There was one leaning dunny down the back and, if you stayed very quiet, on a very still day you could hear the white ants as they chewed the wood.The bottom boards were already eaten through, and I avoided using the dunny at all costs.2008, Judith L. McNeil, No One's Child, page 95
- Synonyms:
- bathroom
- Any other place or fixture used for urination and defecation: a latrine; a lavatory; a toilet.
- The dunny was another place to go to get out of class. You got to go there by raising your hand in class and asking Miss if you could go to the lav.2010, Kathleen M. McGinley, Out of the Daydream, page 47
- Synonyms:
- toilet
- A passageway, particularly those connecting an outhouse to the main building.
Noun (3)
dunny (plural dunnies)
- A cellar, basement, or underground passage.
Also used as
dunny is also the alternative form of danna.
Synonyms of dunny
Forms of dunny
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | dunnier |
| superlative | dunniest |
| Noun | |
| plural | dunnies |
| alternative form | danna |
| alternative form | dunnee |
Origin of dunny
From dun (“dusky brown”) + -y (“forming adjectives of lesser degree”).
Probably from dun (“to ring”) + -y (“forming adjectives of lesser degree”).
A clipped form of English cant dunnakin (“outhouse”) + -y (suffix forming affectionate diminutives). Dunnakin, dunnekin, etc. are of uncertain etymology, but probably from some form of English cant danna (“dung”) + ken (“house”, pejorative slang). The Scottish and North English senses may derive from Etymology 4 below, either under influence from English cant or as its original source.
Words formed from dunny
- dunnily
- dunniness
- bang like a dunny door
- bang like a dunny door in a gale
- dunny budgie
- dunny can
- dunny cart
- dunny-ken
- dunny man
- dunny roll
Phrases with dunny
Words that rhyme with dunny
5 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about dunny
- What does dunny mean?
- Dunny means somewhat dun, dusky brownish.
- What part of speech is dunny?
- Dunny can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce dunny?
- Dunny is pronounced /ˈdʌni/.
Words near dunny in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dunny (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: EN-AU ck1 dunny.ogg.
Cite this entry: “dunny.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dunny. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.