silky
Americanadjective
-
silkier,
comparative
-
silkiest
superlative
-
of or like silk; smooth, lustrous, soft, or delicate.
silky skin.
-
Botany. covered with fine, soft, closely set hairs, as a leaf.
adjective
-
resembling silk in texture; glossy
-
made of silk
-
(of a voice, manner, etc) suave; smooth
-
botany covered with long fine soft hairs
silky leaves
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of silky
Explanation
Silky is an adjective describing something smooth, soft, and glossy — like your friend's silky hair or the silky fabric of a formal gown. Silky is a textural description, and it can be used to describe food, fabric, or hair. The word can also be used to describe vocal textures, as well. Someone might say about Frank Sinatra, "His silky smooth voice and his innovative lyrics will be around for quite some time."
Vocabulary lists containing silky
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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American Street
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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:
After about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, with a stir halfway through, the cabbage had softened into silky folds, with a little browning at the edges.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
He bamboozles opponents so often with his mind, which allows his strong run game and silky left-hand passes to move the ball down the field easier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
"We have given France so much praise in this tournament, but they were swatted aside by silky Spain. In the main, Spain have outfought and outplayed this French team."
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The designs, including silky dresses and billowing space-age black trousers like those worn by rock star David Bowie in the 1970s, were carefully fitted to the robots' skeletal frames.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
The voice was silky, not young, and very official.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
Begin with Kewpie mayonnaise — richer, silkier, faintly sweet, and unapologetically egg-forward.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026
The fragrance of rose makes hair seem silkier, for instance.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2026
"Remy hair has aligned cuticles, hair flows uniformly in one direction, which leads to less tangling and a silkier texture. This is high-value hair," says George Cherion, the company's chief executive.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2025
For the consumer, koji means a rounder, silkier, sweeter brew.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 2022
All the man could see in the twilight had been that bent head, the silky smoothness of which seemed even silkier than usual in the dim light from the shaded lamp.
From Absolution by Clara Viebig
Your song with Coco Jones might be the silkiest thing you’ve ever done.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
The final look underlined the simple elegance of Jones’ propositions: A racing-back tank tucked into white trousers softened by this season’s apron-half skirt — all in the silkiest white.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022
When stirred into risottos and pastas just before serving, mascarpone melts into the silkiest, luxurious one-ingredient sauce.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2022
But for the silkiest texture, it’s best to pass the puréed soup through a fine-mesh sieve.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2021
Victoria, one of the silkiest, featheriest hatted, people thought I was cool and quirky?
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
