clammy
Americanadjective
-
covered with a cold, sticky moisture; cold and damp.
clammy hands.
-
sickly; morbid.
She had a clammy feeling that something was wrong at home.
adjective
-
unpleasantly sticky; moist
clammy hands
-
(of the weather, atmosphere, etc) close; humid
Other Word Forms
- clammily adverb
- clamminess noun
Etymology
Origin of clammy
1350–1400; Middle English, equivalent to Middle English clam sticky, cold and damp + -y -y 1
Explanation
Clammy means unpleasantly cool and slimy to the touch. It has nothing to do with those tasty little sea creatures, but they too are pretty slimy. Nine times out of ten the thing described as clammy is a hand or forehead, usually of someone who's pretty sick or just physically unpleasant. When Dickens' David Copperfield shakes the hand of the creepy Uriah Heep he exclaims, "But oh, what a clammy hand his was! As ghostly to the touch as to the sight!" Clammy can also refer to the air or atmosphere of a place, if it's particularly damp.
Vocabulary lists containing clammy
The Cay
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
One Crazy Summer
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
And Then There Were None
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
“In the ‘morning’ the air is thick; it hangs in a clammy, damp mass that you can all but grasp with your hands.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
This shame is embedded into Western culture, says Ms Everts, who has long suffered embarrassment about her own clammy skin.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2025
This evolutionary gift adds a clammy disquiet to the eye-jacked livestock, which never rests and is constantly evaluating its captors and fellow captives.
From Salon • Sep. 18, 2025
Symptoms of heat exhaustion include clammy skin, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting and muscle cramps.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 2025
Defenseless even against her own thoughts, which told her that the walls were clammy with goo.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
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.
