adjective
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covered with soft fine hair or feathers
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light, soft, and fluffy
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made from or filled with down
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resembling downs; undulating
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slang sharp-witted; knowing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of downy
Explanation
Things that are downy are very soft and fluffy. Babies are sometimes born with little tufts of downy hair on their heads. A teenage boy who wants to grow a beard will be frustrated by the downy hairs on his chin, and you could also describe the feeling of a peach as downy. When you rip your winter coat, the downy feathers inside might start floating out behind you in a trail wherever you go. These are also known as down, or the soft feathers that typically grow on a young bird — this is the origin, in fact, of downy.
Vocabulary lists containing downy
A Boy Called Bat
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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 2
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Wolf Brother
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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.
See Examples For:
His earliest memories of fabric were totally sensory, he said, recalling the downy feel of a jamawar shawl at home in Srinagar and the soft warmth of his mother's shahtoosh saris.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2024
"Our hypothesis is that these bladder cells also protect against other plant diseases like downy mildew, a fungal disease which severely limits quinoa yields," says Max Moog.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2023
The Italian government last month allocated a modest one million euros to help grape producers hurt by downy mildew.
From Reuters ● Sep. 15, 2023
Unlike their parents, whose sleek black-and-white feathers seal their skin against the frigid ocean, chicks’ downy plumage isn’t waterproof.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
They all watched as the downy tuft wafted hypnotically back and forth, back and forth, until it disappeared under the seat.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
You always must have been a precious sight downier than I thought.
From Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks Book Number Fifteen in the Jack Harkaway Series by Hemyng, Bracebridge
Hibermate The interior of this handcrafted sleep mask feels like it's stitched out of the downiest fleece, while the satin exterior slips easily against surfaces so the Hibermate stays put if you toss and turn.
From Time Magazine Archive
He listened to it stoically, propped up among Aunt Gertrude’s downiest feather pillows, in the dark bedroom, a green shade almost bandaging his eyes, and hiding half of his thin white face.
From Jane Lends A Hand by Watkins, Shirley
"You think a dog's proper place is the best armchair or the downiest bed in the house!"
From Afterwards by Rhodes, Kathlyn
That night I could not have slept in the downiest of couches, e’en with the softest music of well-played lutes.
From Cedric, the Forester by Marshall, Bernard Gay
And he's the downiest one of the lot!'
From Oliver Twist by Dickens, Charles
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.
