stormy
Americanadjective
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affected, characterized by, or subject to storms; tempestuous.
a stormy sea.
-
characterized by violent commotion, actions, speech, passions, etc..
a stormy debate.
adjective
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characterized by storms
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subject to, involving, or characterized by violent disturbance or emotional outburst
Usage
What does stormy mean? Stormy literally describes weather that has resulted in storms or that indicates that storms are coming—especially conditions like dark clouds, strong winds, thunder, lightning, and rain. It is often used in the phrase stormy weather.It can also be used to describe a place that frequently has storms.Stormy can also be used in a figurative way to describe a situation that’s full of conflict and commotion, as in Things got a bit stormy at the council meeting when members started making accusations against each other. Example: Expect stormy skies on your commute this morning—it looks like we’ll get some intense rainstorms starting around 9 o’clock.
Other Word Forms
- stormily adverb
- storminess noun
- unstormily adverb
- unstorminess noun
- unstormy adjective
Etymology
Origin of stormy
1150–1200; Middle English; Old English stormig. See storm, -y 1
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.
Beneath the stormy optics of that immigration crackdown, however, lies a less-noticed reversal: America’s own citizens are leaving in record numbers, replanting themselves and their families in lands they find more affordable and safe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
Better still, it even gives you hope for humanity, even if the movie’s overall forecast for society is stormy.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
On a stormy evening, the 45-year-old marketing specialist was heading to a Sergei Prokofiev opera at the Bolshoi's historic stage.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
After a year of navigating stormy geopolitical developments that kept businesses and consumers on edge, the U.S. economy is starting to look like it it could have a smooth descent to a soft landing.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 14, 2026
Safe enough to sink into a strange dream where I'm bobbing up and down in a stormy ocean that carries me far away from Amma.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
