adjective
-
of or having the appearance of silver
the silvery moon
-
containing or covered with silver
-
having a clear ringing sound
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of silvery
Explanation
Anything that has a shiny gray color is silvery, like the silvery moonlit surface of a pond at night. The adjective silvery is perfect for describing things that shimmer and glow like silver, whether it's the silverly hue of your grandmother's long hair, silvery moth wings, or the silvery sardines in the tin you just opened. You can also use it to describe ringing, melodious sounds: "I'd know the silvery sound of her laughter anywhere!"
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 corona is the Sun's extremely hot outer atmosphere, and during most eclipses it appears white or silvery.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Rarely has one person so dominated the fashion stakes, with a specially made silvery Jacquemus bustier dress on opening night, followed by an enormous hot pink Barbie ballgown by edgy French-Canadian fashion label Matieres Fecales.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Soprano Gabriella Reyes brought both menace and comedy to Catrina, tossing off her coloratura laughter and rocking her costume of silvery bones painted on black and swathed in tulle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
"What you're looking for with an aurora is a shimmery, silvery cloud," says Heymans.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
The encyclopedia entry had a photograph of Pauline Hawthorne herself, a slender woman with large dark eyes and silvery hair in a no-nonsense bob.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
