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misty

American  
[mis-tee] / ˈmɪs ti /

adjective

  • mistier,
    comparative
  • mistiest
    superlative
  1. abounding in or clouded by mist.

  2. of the nature of or consisting of mist.

  3. appearing as if seen through mist; indistinct or blurred in form or outline.

  4. obscure; vague.


misty British  
/ ˈmɪstɪ /

adjective

  1. consisting of or resembling mist

  2. obscured by or as if by mist

  3. indistinct; blurred

    the misty past

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Adjectives


Etymology

Origin of misty

before 900; Middle English; Old English mistig. See mist, -y 1


Explanation

When it's misty out, there's a heavy fog. The air is thick with moisture, and there's just barely a light rain. When the air is foggy or hazy, you've got a misty situation. It isn't easy to see through misty weather, which happens most often in the morning because of moisture in the air. Your eyes can get misty too, when you're about to cry because you're sad or just have allergies. In fact, people who are embarrassed about crying will often joke, "It's getting misty in here."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing misty

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

That more humid air combined with light winds across England and Wales into Tuesday means it will start off rather misty and foggy with areas of low cloud for some.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

That more humid air paired with light winds across England and Wales into Tuesday means some will start off rather misty and foggy.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Restaurants were packed with diners and hotels were fully booked with tourists looking to soak in the region’s misty redwood forests and dramatic ocean views.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

What follows is a soaring, visionary narrative that connects the known world to the misty realms of Celtic legend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

He is standing alone right now, sipping coffee and staring off into space, his eyes misty with tears.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

Like a lot of farmers, 54-year-old Graham Wilson from Dylife in Powys juggles a few different businesses, one of which involves heading up into the mistier fields and forests, whatever the weather.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

Gray and damp at 10 a.m., it proved grayer, mistier and wetter at 6 p.m.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 10, 2023

But this version of “The Visit” has another dimension, too, a mistier one that exalts the notion of deathless love.

From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2015

The “twilight” of the exhibition’s title has as much to do with the mistier regions of consciousness as with the borderlands of real-world time and space.

From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2010

As the spring approached, the vision of her independent visit to London, which had sustained her throughout the winter, having performed its annual function, grew mistier and mistier, and at last faded away.

From The Country House by John Galsworthy

“I think we will leave the lesson here for today,” said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest voice.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

It stood for human war and human courage and human deeds from the mistiest past, and behind it must be a weight of human wrath, feats, and tradition that must make even the Snake pause.

From Snake and Sword A Novel by Percival Christopher Wren

To Zodiac after a while they came— The twistiest, mistiest town, With odd little collopy, scallopy streets Meandering up and down.

From Zodiac Town The Rhymes of Amos and Ann by Winifred Bromhall

That has always a great effect upon the English, whose feudal notions are rather of the mistiest, and principally derived from Waverley.”

From Tales from Blackwood, Volume 1 by Various

It was the mistiest spot I ever visited.

From Franz Liszt by James Huneker

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