silky
Americanadjective
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of or like silk; smooth, lustrous, soft, or delicate.
silky skin.
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Botany. covered with fine, soft, closely set hairs, as a leaf.
adjective
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resembling silk in texture; glossy
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made of silk
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(of a voice, manner, etc) suave; smooth
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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.
Launched with the silky, catchy single Swim, the album charted at number one in 26 countries, and has already appeared on multiple best of 2026 lists.
From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026
As the beans sit, they absorb some of the dressing’s flavor while also releasing a bit of their starch into the olive oil, creating something that feels almost silky.
From Salon • Jun. 16, 2026
Last Friday at Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights, visitors were greeted by the thumping bass of cumbia sonideras, earthy scent of leather trinkets and clothing racks featuring silky screen-printed soccer jerseys.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 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
She tucked her silky black hair behind her ear, revealing large squash blossom earrings.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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.
