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

Retired high court judge Anjana Prakash told HW news that his comment was “dramatic, filmy and laughable and it had brought down the level of judiciary”.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2024

As the third graders of Cumberland Elementary in the Chicago suburbs colored, clipped and glued paper to make cicadas with filmy wings, they confided their fears about what is about to happen in Illinois.

From New York Times ● May 4, 2024

“Imagine!” cried Judith, pulling out a handsome gown of filmy silk.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

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

Her rose maids of honor, in filmiest laces, Loitered and lingered in shy woodland places; And white-vested lilies were ever at prayer; Their vespers, the perfume that sweetened the air.

From Rosemary and Rue by Amber

From the depths of her theatre trunks she produced a bewildering assortment of laces, chiffon, silks, and the filmiest of gauzes.

From West Wind Drift by George Barr McCutcheon

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

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

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