stuffy

[stuhf-ee]

adjective

stuffier, stuffiest 

1. close; poorly ventilated.

   a stuffy room.

2. oppressive from lack of freshness.

   stuffy air; a stuffy odor.

3. lacking in interest, as writing or discourse.

   Synonyms: stodgy

4. affected with a sensation of obstruction in the respiratory passages.

   a stuffy nose.

5. dull or tedious; boring.

   Synonyms: stodgy

6. self-important; pompous.

   Synonyms: smug

7. rigid or strait-laced in attitudes, especially in matters of personal behavior.

   Synonyms: priggish

8. old-fashioned; conservative.

   Synonyms: stodgy

9. ill-tempered; sulky.

stuffy

/ ˈstʌfɪ /

adjective

1. lacking fresh air

2. excessively dull, staid, or conventional

3. (of the nasal passages) blocked with mucus

Other Word Forms

• stuffily adverb
• stuffiness noun
• unstuffily adverb
• unstuffiness noun
• unstuffy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stuffy¹

First recorded in 1545–55; stuff + -y ¹

Example Sentences

His sunsum jumbles my thoughts and makes the room stuffy with power.

Read more on Literature

But the nursery felt stuffy all at once, without the wonderful summer breeze that had been making the curtains billow and dance all morning.

Read more on Literature

Spending the next 10 years lamenting Madigan’s potential snub would be nothing more than reductive, implying that her work is only worthy if it’s awarded by stuffy voters who maintain little respect for horror, anyway.

Read more on Salon

“It was the cuisine of America in the ‘60s,” he says, “and it was considered very high-end and chic. Then it became too stuffy and sort of fell out of favor.”

Read more on Salon

Of all the neighborhoods in New York City, the Upper East Side has long had a reputation for being the most boring, old-school and stuffiest part of town.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• arrogant 
• dreary 
• genteel 
• humorless www.thesaurus.com
• musty 
• pompous 
• self-important 
• staid 
• stodgy