sultry

[suhl-tree]

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adjective, sul·tri·er, sul·tri·est.

oppressively hot and close or moist; sweltering: a sultry day.
oppressively hot; emitting great heat: the sultry sun.
characterized by or associated with sweltering heat: sultry work in the fields.

characterized by or arousing passion: sultry eyes.

Origin of sultry

1585–95; sult(e)r (variant of swelter) + -y¹

Related formssul·tri·ly, adverbsul·tri·ness, nounun·sul·try, adjective

Synonyms for sultry

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1. oppressive, stifling, humid.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for sultriness

humidity, dampness, oppressiveness

Examples from the Web for sultriness

Contemporary Examples of sultriness

With Perl in particular, a former makeup artist, there is a sultriness to her metallic eye shadow and her painted lips.
The Sisterhood of Bulletproof Stockings: It’s Ladies’ Night for Hasidic Rockers
Emily Shire
September 30, 2014

Historical Examples of sultriness

A week went by,—a week of weather that had all the sultriness of August.
The New England Magazine Volume 1, No. 3, March, 1886
Various
The water was inviting, with the sultriness of the afternoon.
The Rival Campers Ashore
Ruel Perley Smith
What with the dancing and the sultriness of the weather, the night was about as hot as an oven.
Johnny Ludlow. First Series
Mrs. Henry Wood
It was, as he said, a splendid day—all sultriness dissipated by the strong wind.
Rutledge
Miriam Coles Harris
Upon him and his mother lay the sultriness of a brewing tempest.
The Burning Secret
Stefan Zweig

British Dictionary definitions for sultriness

sultry

adjective -trier or -triest

(of weather or climate) oppressively hot and humid
characterized by or emitting oppressive heat
displaying or suggesting passion; sensualsultry eyes

Derived Formssultrily, adverbsultriness, noun

Word Origin for sultry

C16: from obsolete sulter to swelter + -y 1

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 sultriness

sultry

adj.

1590s, "oppressively hot, close and moist" (of weather), from obsolete verb sulter "to swelter" (1580s), alteration of swelter. Figurative sense of "hot with lust" is attested from 1704; of women, "lascivious, sensual, arousing desire" it is recorded from 1940.