downy

American  

[dou-nee] / ˈdaʊ ni /

adjective

downier, downiest

1. of the nature of or resembling down; fluffy; soft.

2. made of down.

3. covered with down.

4. soft; soothing.

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downy British  

/ ˈdaʊnɪ /

adjective

1. covered with soft fine hair or feathers

2. light, soft, and fluffy

3. made from or filled with down

4. resembling downs; undulating

5. slang sharp-witted; knowing

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Other Word Forms

• downily
  adverb
• downiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of downy

First recorded in 1540–50; down ² + -y ¹

Explanation

Things that are downy are very soft and fluffy. Babies are sometimes born with little tufts of downy hair on their heads. A teenage boy who wants to grow a beard will be frustrated by the downy hairs on his chin, and you could also describe the feeling of a peach as downy. When you rip your winter coat, the downy feathers inside might start floating out behind you in a trail wherever you go. These are also known as down, or the soft feathers that typically grow on a young bird — this is the origin, in fact, of downy.

Example Sentences

Super Bowl regular Procter & Gamble promotes its Downy Unstopables brand in an ad showing actor Danny McBride - who wants to go by “Downy McBride.”

From Washington Times • Feb. 10, 2023

Likewise, Procter & Gamble said last week that it plans to raise prices for detergents like Tide, Gain, and Downy and for personal care products.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 28, 2022

The company added that it expected more price increases throughout the year, starting in February on fabric care products like Gain, Bounce and Downy.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2022

So maybe everyone will be brought back to Hawkins by some sort of Upside Downy event, but that probably won’t happen immediately.

From The Guardian • Jul. 22, 2019

“Just...you know, I wanted to check if we needed to dry-clean these, but nope. Downy fresh!”

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon