stuffy

American  

[stuhf-ee] / ˈstʌf i /

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.

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stuffy British  

/ ˈstʌfɪ /

adjective

1. lacking fresh air

2. excessively dull, staid, or conventional

3. (of the nasal passages) blocked with mucus

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of stuffy

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

Example Sentences

On the run from her well-to-do, stuffy colonial background, she launched herself into London’s bohemia.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s a stuffy space beneath the sloping garage roof, with maybe thirty birds in cages.

From Literature

“Sorry, it’s...just stuffy in here,” she said.

From Literature

Let's be honest, Spurs are not an attractive team to watch at the moment, and they are very stuffy and scrappy whether they win or not.

From BBC

“There’s a reputation that museums, and particularly art museums, have of being kind of stuffy or like elitist or something like that, which is not something that I personally agree with,” says Critchley.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• arrogant
• dreary
• genteel
• humorless
• musty
• pompous
• self-important
• staid
• stodgy