wintry

American  

[win-tree] / ˈwɪn tri /

Also wintery

adjective

wintrier, wintriest

1. of or characteristic of winter: wintry skies.

   wintry blasts;

   wintry skies.

2. resembling winter weather; having snow, frost, cold, storms, etc..

   We had wintry weather well into May last year.

3. suggestive of winter, as in lack of warmth or cheer.

   a wintry manner.

   Synonyms:

   cheerless, bleak, cold

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wintry British  

/ ˈwɪntərɪ, -trɪ, ˈwɪntrɪ /

adjective

1. (esp of weather) of or characteristic of winter

2. lacking cheer or warmth; bleak

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Other Word Forms

• unwintry adjective
• wintrily adverb
• wintriness noun

Etymology

Origin of wintry

First recorded before 900; Old English wintrig (not recorded in Middle English ); winter, -y ¹

Example Sentences

The government has credited wintry weather with a recent lull in the disease.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

On Saturday a colder north-westerly wind will bring a mixture of sunny spells and wintry showers.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

By Sunday, heavy rain will spread south and east across the UK followed by some wintry showers and sunny spells across Scotland, Northern Ireland and later in the day northern England and Wales.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

This will bring some showers which could turn a little wintry over the higher ground of Scotland, northern England and Wales.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

I hurried down the street to the bookseller one wintry afternoon, bought a whole new set of ledgers, and started in to impose method on madness.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• bleak
• chilly
• desolate
• freezing
• frigid
• frosty
• frozen
• icy