balmy
Americanadjective
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(of weather) mild and pleasant
-
having the qualities of balm; fragrant or soothing
-
a variant spelling of barmy
Other Word Forms
- balmily adverb
- balminess noun
Etymology
Origin of balmy
Explanation
Tourists who flock from Minnesota to Florida in the wintertime are hoping for balmy weather — that is, those frosty Midwesterners are trading mountains of snow and freezing winds for warm sun and gentle breezes. ChapStick and nice weather might not seem to have much in common, but consider this: Both are soothing and restorative. The adjective balmy is, indeed, related to the noun balm (as in "lip balm") and both share a wonderfully rich etymology: Balm made its way from Hebrew to English via Greek, Latin, and Old French. Just as the noun is used in the names of aromatic unguents and plants with healing properties, the adjective balmy is used to describe weather so pleasant that it's positively therapeutic.
Vocabulary lists containing balmy
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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Othello
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"The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
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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.
That’s because the global maps most of us are used to are as deceptive as icy Greenland’s euphemistically balmy name.
From Slate • Jan. 21, 2026
The Marina Safeway opened its doors on a balmy summer day in 1959.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026
Its trapped-ion architecture operates at room temperature, a meaningful advantage when competitors require cooling systems that make Antarctica look balmy.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025
It was a balmy Thursday afternoon at the residential hostel of the BJ Medical College and the canteen was teeming with students getting lunch.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2025
Might it be a balmy, summer planet, a little warmer than the Earth because it is a little closer to the Sun?
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
