powdery

[pou-duh-ree]

adjective

1. consisting of or resembling powder.

   powdery sand; powdery clouds.

2. easily reduced to powder.

   powdery plaster.

3. sprinkled or covered with or as with powder.

   flowers powdery with pollen.

Word History and Origins

Origin of powdery¹

First recorded in 1400–50, powdery is from the late Middle English word powdry. See powder ¹, -y ¹

Example Sentences

Autochromes possess the light-dappled depth of Impressionist paintings, the powdery precision of pointillism, the honest blushes of butterfly cheeks, and the palpable textures of gleaming silks and gilded velvets.

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Pearce maintained during his trial that he found the two women unconscious in his apartment around 5 a.m. near liquor bottles and a powdery substance.

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“I had a couple of dangerous places where the trail became a slope full of powdery snow, and it was very easy to slip off,” Novitskiy wrote on Facebook.

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When tested on wheat, these compounds helped protect against fungal infections such as powdery mildew.

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That makes “Folktales” decidedly more powdery than densely packed — it’s all ruddy cheeks, slo-mo camaraderie and the healing power of steering a dog sled through breathtaking terrain.

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Related Words

• chalky 
• crumbly 
• dusty 
• grainy 
• gravelly