sooty

American  

[soot-ee, soo-tee] / ˈsʊt i, ˈsu ti /

adjective

sootier, sootiest

1. covered, blackened, or smirched with soot.

2. consisting of or resembling soot.

3. of a black, blackish, or dusky color.

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sooty British  

/ ˈsʊtɪ /

adjective

1. covered with soot

2. resembling or consisting of soot

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Other Word Forms

• sootily adverb
• sootiness noun
• unsooty adjective

Etymology

Origin of sooty

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; soot, -y ¹

Explanation

After a harsh winter, the chimney of a frequently used fireplace might be especially sooty, covered in dark ashes from all of the fires that burned within. Sooty describes anything coated with or similar to soot — the fine, black particles produced by burning organic matter like wood or coal. Sooty surfaces can be messy and difficult to clean, and they often signal incomplete combustion or pollution. In stories, characters with sooty faces or clothes might be chimney sweeps or coal miners. The word can also be used to describe particularly dark shades of black.

Example Sentences

Malick Diop grew up in Senegal in a thatched-roof hut with a dirt floor, sooty walls and roaming goats.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Surge, typing to you from underneath a sooty, icy snow boulder that has covered the entirety of D.C. for a week.

From Slate • Jan. 31, 2026

The mostly white moths stood out in the sooty environment and became easy prey for predators.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2025

In the process, the Fosters have created a small island of civilization in a sooty, fire-blasted wilderness.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2025

He gave me a long look, then came over to me, reached out hesitantly, and touched me with a sooty hand.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler