gusty
1 Americanadjective
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blowing or coming in gusts, as wind, rain, or storms.
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affected or marked by gusts of wind, rain, etc..
a gusty day.
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occurring or characterized by sudden bursts or outbursts, as sound or laughter.
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full of meaningless, pretentious talk.
gusty speechmaking.
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vigorous; hearty; zestful.
a gusty woman.
adjective
adjective
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blowing or occurring in gusts or characterized by blustery weather
a gusty wind
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given to sudden outbursts, as of emotion or temperament
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gusty1
First recorded in 1590–1600; gust 1 + -y 1; gusty 1 def. 5 perhaps gust(o) + -y 1
Origin of gusty2
Explanation
Gusty, the adjective, describes what the wind is like when leaves are swirling around in the air, garbage blowing all over city streets, and hats refusing to stay put. Read this word too quickly and you may think it says gutsy — an entirely different word. See the base gust — as in "a gust of wind" — and you'll get more than a hint as to what gusty means. Gusty typically relates to the weather — describing blustery winds, sudden outbursts, strong on-again/ off-again blasts of cold air. Go outside the box and use it to depict a person's stormy, emotional behavior, especially if he has quick, sudden outbursts: "He was given to gusty behavior whenever you mentioned her name."
Vocabulary lists containing gusty
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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.
The Sandy Fire was burning amid dry, light gusty winds.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
The day started gusty and cool, but was sunny by the time I hit the halfway point.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Pitbull hit the Mustang Stage an hour later than expected Saturday night after gusty winds forced Stagecoach to evacuate attendees for more than an hour, but Mr. Worldwide didn’t let a delay stop the fun.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026
Despite the sunshine, temperatures will remain below average, with highs of 5–10°C nationwide, and the gusty winds will make it feel even colder.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Mount Washington sometimes gets a little gusty, to put it mildly, and this was a particularly breezy day.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
