stuffy
Americanadjective
-
close; poorly ventilated.
a stuffy room.
-
oppressive from lack of freshness.
stuffy air; a stuffy odor.
-
lacking in interest, as writing or discourse.
- Synonyms:
- stodgy
-
affected with a sensation of obstruction in the respiratory passages.
a stuffy nose.
-
dull or tedious; boring.
- Synonyms:
- stodgy
-
self-important; pompous.
- Synonyms:
- smug
-
rigid or strait-laced in attitudes, especially in matters of personal behavior.
- Synonyms:
- priggish
-
old-fashioned; conservative.
- Synonyms:
- stodgy
-
ill-tempered; sulky.
adjective
-
lacking fresh air
-
excessively dull, staid, or conventional
-
(of the nasal passages) blocked with mucus
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stuffy
Explanation
A room that's stuffy isn't well-ventilated or full of fresh air. If your classroom is stuffy, you may find it hard to concentrate. Better ask your teacher to open a window. If your car is stuffy, it's hot and there isn't enough fresh air circulating. If your nose is stuffy, it's congested (also without enough air moving through it). When a person is stuffy, he or she is a little prim and proper, without a lot of imagination or a willingness to try new things. The very earliest meaning of this adjective, dating from about 1550, was "full of substance."
Vocabulary lists containing stuffy
The Catcher in the Rye
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Genesis Begins Again
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Finding Langston
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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.
The newly formed LA Stuffy Project found him a replacement for the lost plush puppy, Scout.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2025
Stuffy sinuses with an acidic burn in the eyes.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2024
Stuffy old cricket dared to do it, engaging the Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, and last season's performance suggests it may have paid off.
From The Guardian • Oct. 9, 2012
Rendezvous readers told us exactly what they didn’t like about CDG: Stuffy from Brooklyn and John from Canada both complained about bewildering signage.
From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2012
"Stuffy these trees make the Avenue," said Mr. Stanley as they drew alongside, to account for his own ruffled and heated expression.
From Ann Veronica, a modern love story by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
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.
