sultry

[suhl-tree]

adjective

sultrier, sultriest 

1. oppressively hot and close or moist; sweltering.

   a sultry day.

   Synonyms: humid, stifling, oppressive

2. oppressively hot; emitting great heat.

   the sultry sun.

3. characterized by or associated with sweltering heat.

   sultry work in the fields.

4. characterized by or arousing passion.

   sultry eyes.

sultry

/ ˈsʌltrɪ /

adjective

1. (of weather or climate) oppressively hot and humid

2. characterized by or emitting oppressive heat

3. displaying or suggesting passion; sensual

   sultry eyes

Other Word Forms

• sultrily adverb
• sultriness noun
• unsultry adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sultry¹

1585–95; sult(e)r (variant of swelter ) + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sultry¹

C16: from obsolete sulter to _swelter + _-y ¹

Example Sentences

“Showgirl’s” opening track has a sultry groove and low pulse that could easily be the soundtrack to a flirty nightcap or the series finale of a dark comedy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Just last month, ace rapper and dancer Intak released a sultry cover of Usher’s “Good Kisser.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The video shows a recreation of AOC on Capitol Hill, delivering a speech that includes phrases like “sultry little temptress” and “ocean-blue eyes that could resurrect the Führer from his grave in Argentina.”

Read more on Salon

Lipa sang the first verse slowly, over a sultry orchestral backing.

Read more on BBC

It’s sultry in the way certain evenings are sultry, when someone you’ve sat across from a hundred times suddenly looks different in the late June light, like maybe you’ve both finally noticed.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• hot 
• muggy 
• oppressive 
• scorching 
• sizzling 
• soggy 
• sticky 
• stifling 
• sweltering 
• torrid