filmy

American  

[fil-mee] / ˈfɪl mi /

adjective

filmier, filmiest

1. thin and light; fine and gauzy.

   a gown of a filmy material.

2. hazy or misty; glazed.

   filmy eyes.

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filmy British  

/ ˈfɪlmɪ /

adjective

1. composed of or resembling film; transparent or gauzy

2. covered with or as if with a film; hazy; blurred

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Other Word Forms

• filminess
  noun
• filmily
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of filmy

First recorded in 1595–1605; film + -y ¹

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Explanation

Something that's filmy is light and translucent. Filmy white curtains are especially pretty when the sun shines through them and they blow in the breeze. The adjective filmy often describes fabric that you can almost see through, like a filmy dress you wear to the prom. A filmy layer of light might rest on the surface of water, and your old dog might have filmy eyes. In all of these examples, the filmy thing is nearly as thin as a film or membrane: the word stems from the Old English filmen, "membrane or thin skin."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

filmy filmier filmiest

Eventually her costume provides those around her with filmy plumes, to no pointed effect.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The only ones I tend to avoid are neutral vegetable oil, which can make the whole thing feel a little filmy, and coconut oil, unless that is a flavor you specifically want to chase.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Curiously, the style game of Punjabi musicians - from hip-hop, R&B, bhangra pop, fusion, Punjabi rap, reggae or filmy music - has also remained rooted and androgynous, instead of being hyper masculine.

From BBC ● May 31, 2025

It reveals mostly close-ups of the singers, often as filmy cameos like you might see in old silents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2024

In the house of our hostess, other guests were ready, fingers moving restlessly in filmy cloth or tucking in hair that had never escaped, and every mirror was a place for sidelong glances.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

The lower sleeves are golden, a line of white at the wrist, and a filmier one within the bodice.

From Holbein by Beatrice Fortescue

Our normal waking consciousness is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different.

From Time Magazine Archive

A white lace overdress of filmiest texture fell over the velvet, almost touching the wreath of lilies, and looked as though it was made of sea foam.

From Mizora: A Prophecy A MSS. Found Among the Private Papers of the Princess Vera Zarovitch by Mary E. Bradley Lane

Weave, weave, weave,      The tiniest thread will do;      The filmiest thread from a spider's bed      Is stout enough for you.

From Christian's Mistake by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

Above these they could see a range of sharp-peaked mountains that still caught the sunlight, some crystal white with snow, others muffled by clouds turned to iris-hued scarfs of filmiest gauze.

From Ewing\'s Lady by Harry Leon Wilson

She scampered up-stairs to bring down her filmiest tea-cloth.

From Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

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