adjective
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moist with or as with dew
a dewy complexion
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of or resembling dew
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poetic suggesting, falling, or refreshing like dew
dewy sleep
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of dewy
before 1000; Middle English; Old English dēawig; see dew, -y 1
Explanation
Something that's dewy is slightly damp, or beaded with moisture. The dewy grass early in the morning might leave wet marks on your sneakers. Anything that has dew on it — the tiny water drops left overnight by condensation — is dewy. The ground, leaves, blades of grass, and even your car might be dewy on a cool spring morning. You can also describe something very smooth and glowing, especially a person's skin, as dewy. The Old English root word is dēawig.
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:
The bulk of the book, especially the passages from M’s journals, are given to dewy philosophizing on the purpose of creation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
McClung depicts the tower with rigid orange triangles and hints of dewy sun-kissed hues, alongside a pencil-drawn image of the old Mt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
On a dewy night, Jemimah Rodrigues powered India to one of the greatest chases in women's cricket to reach the World Cup final.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
The slippery leaf surface is made worse in damp or dewy conditions – but in heavy rain it clears away.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024
She’s waiting for Him now, as she steps through the dewy grass.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
But until recently, the main game in town was the Jonathan Club, which was founded in 1895 and barely registered among the young, dewier set.
From New York Times ● Aug. 7, 2019
I know about his father’s stock-market losses and his own estrangement from dewier and more smoothly conformist classmates at Harvard’s business school.
From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2017
The lunar glow of Gheorghiu's voice sounds wan, and her intonation often sags; never having developed as an interpreter, she can only compete with our memories of her dewier prime.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 13, 2013
Basically, Plotz believes that the male characters on Nashville are far fresher and dewier and prettier than the female characters.
From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2013
I bid them dance, I bid them sing, For the limpid glance Of my ladyling; For the gift to the Spring of a dewier spring, For God's good grace of this ladyling!
From Sister Songs; an offering to two sisters by Francis Thompson
And steady, patient organizing, beginning at the dewiest grassroots: thus could a single small organization, from a distance and working with minimal resources, working in stealth, take over an organizational Goliath.
From Salon ● May 14, 2016
Heck, even the dewiest, pluckiest ingénue would have a hard time staying fresh once she became an endlessly re-marketable brand name.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2012
The newest, dewiest invention is a plump, pleasant-voiced 19-year-old named Jennie Smith.
From Time Magazine Archive
Every missile plant and laboratory has a welcome for the dewiest young technician.
From Time Magazine Archive
A heavy dew was falling, odours of Eden rose from the earth, colours glowed in the sky, and the dewiest and richest green was all round.
From The Hawaiian Archipelago by Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird
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