starry

[stahr-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR starry ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, star·ri·er, star·ri·est.

abounding with stars: a starry night.

of, relating to, or proceeding from the stars.

of the nature of or consisting of stars: starry worlds.

resembling a star; star-shaped or stellate.

shining like stars: starry reflections on the dark water.

Origin of starry

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at star, -y¹

Related formsstar·ri·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for starry

stellar, luminous, sparkling, astral, bright, celestial, lustrous, shimmering, shining, radiated, sidereal, stelliform

Examples from the Web for starry

Contemporary Examples of starry

Astraea is the starry Lady of the Scales, a sort of karmic, astral Venus who weighs one's deeds.
The Stars Predict Your Week
Starsky + Cox
October 9, 2011
A some-time interest has become a solid platform from which to stretch artistic muscles and reach for starry achievement.
Horoscopes July 3-9, 2011
Starsky + Cox
July 2, 2011
I think that whole experience with The Starry Messenger was ultimately a kind of lonely one for him, and yet it strengthened him.
Sarah Jessica Parker on Surrogacy and Cursing
Kevin Sessums
December 16, 2009

Historical Examples of starry

Overhead is the starry sky, bathed in the pale radiance of the moon.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
He smiled at her; and for a moment he mused again over that starry light in her eyes.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
When I reached the manse, it stood alone in the starry blue night.
Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood
George MacDonald
It was pleasant there; the air came fresh from the starry sky.
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille
Emile Zola
And he was very great and she was very fair, and there radiated from both a starry radiance.
Doctor Pascal
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for starry

starry

adjective -rier or -riest

filled, covered with, or illuminated by stars

of, like, or relating to a star or stars

Derived Formsstarrily, adverbstarriness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for starry

adj.

late 14c., from star + -y (2). Starry-eyed "unrealistically optimistic" is attested from 1884; earlier descriptive of bright eyes. Related: Starrily; starriness.