Word.ws English Dictionary

ropey

ropey is the alternative spelling of ropy.

Meaning of ropy

Adjective (1)

ropy (comparative ropier or more ropy, superlative ropiest or most ropy)

  1. Resembling rope in appearance or texture, used especially of muscles that are thick or hard to the touch.
    • Myofascial Syndrome
      Hence, myofascial pain is usually associated with a taut band, indicating a "ropey" thickening of muscle tissue.
  2. Capable of forming rope-like or thread-like structures.
  3. Of milk or another liquid: slimy, as after the action of Enterobacter aerogenes in syrup.
    • The Hoary Froſts, and Northern Blaſts take care / Thy muddy Bev'rage to ſerene, and drive / Præcipitant the baſer, ropy Lees.1708, [John Philips], “Book II”, in Cyder. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 68
    Synonyms:
    bingy

Adjective (2)

ropy (comparative ropier or more ropy, superlative ropiest or most ropy)

  1. (Ireland, UK, colloquial) Of poor quality; in poor health.
    • The very poultry in the coop / Began to pine away and droop— / The cock was first to go; / And glad we were on all our parts, / He used to damp our very hearts / With such a ropy crow.1845, Thomas Hood, The Captain’s Cow

Forms of ropey

comparativeropier
comparativemore ropey
superlativeropiest
superlativemost ropey

Questions about ropey

What is ropey the alternative spelling of?
Ropey is the alternative spelling of ropy.

Words near ropey in the dictionary

  1. ropeways
  2. ropework
  3. ropeworker
  4. ropeworkers
  5. ropeworks
  6. ropey
  7. ropeyarn
  8. Ropeyarn Sunday
  9. ropeyarns
  10. ropier
  11. ropiest

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ropey (page history and authors); ropy (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.

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Cite this entry: “ropey.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ropey. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.