plumeless
Lacking ornamental feathers
Plumeless means lacking plumes—the showy feathers birds use for display or the feathery crests on helmets and hats.
A plumeless bird has lost or never developed its ornamental feathers.
The word appears mostly in naturalist writing or poetic contexts: the plumeless peacock looked oddly vulnerable.
featherless
Without hair on head
- denudedStripped of natural covering
- unfledgedWithout developed feathers
- unfeatheredLacking plumage
- defeatheredHad plumage removed
plucked · molted · downy · pinfeathered · bare · shorn · smooth · unadorned
bald
Without hair on head
- denudedStripped of natural covering
- unfledgedWithout developed feathers
- unfeatheredLacking plumage
defeathered · plucked · molted · downy · pinfeathered · bare · shorn · smooth · unadorned · naked
awnless
Without terminal bristles