flocculent

/ˈflɑkjələnt/

Other forms: flocculently

If something's puffy or has tufts, you can describe it as flocculent. Sheep are flocculent before they're sheared, and much less flocculent afterward.

The unusual adjective flocculent basically means "fluffy," although it's specific to the way wool is fluffy — in tufts. Your carefully styled hair might be flocculent after a drive in a convertible, for example. The root is the Latin word floccus, which means "lock of hair" or "tuft of wool."

Definitions of flocculent

1. adjective

   having a fluffy character or appearance
   synonyms: woolly, wooly

   soft

   yielding readily to pressure or weight