sultry

[ suhl-tree ]

adjective

, sul·tri·er, sul·tri·est.

1. oppressively hot and close or moist; sweltering:

   a sultry day.

   Synonyms: humid, stifling, oppressive

2. oppressively hot; emitting great heat:

   the sultry sun.

3. characterized by or associated with sweltering heat:

   sultry work in the fields.

4. characterized by or arousing passion:

   sultry eyes.

sultry

/ ˈsʌltrɪ /

adjective

1. (of weather or climate) oppressively hot and humid
2. characterized by or emitting oppressive heat
3. displaying or suggesting passion; sensual

   sultry eyes

Derived Forms

• ˈsultriness, noun
• ˈsultrily, adverb

Other Words From

• sultri·ly adverb
• sultri·ness noun
• un·sultry adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sultry¹

1585–95; sult(e)r (variant of swelter ) + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sultry¹

C16: from obsolete sulter to swelter + -y ¹

Example Sentences

If you don’t have a high tolerance for Reynolds’ schtick, Red Notice won’t win you over, since he’s the comedic third of a triptych in which Johnson serves as the straight-man muscle and Gadot functions as the sultry villainess.

From The Daily Beast

In addition to the significant moment, Rihanna also previewed one of the sultry dresses from the SS22 collection in her latest editorial for Dazed magazine styled by Ibrahim Kamara, who is also a friend of Davis.

From Essence.com

Buy Vida KN95 Face Mask at Vida, $nullSure, this mask is a little too sultry for most offices, but it’s perfect for an evening out on the town.

From The Daily Beast

It incubated in the sultry Gulf of Mexico, drawing power from water that was unusually warm.

From Washington Post

Ready to serve up sexy, the bad gal dropped a sultry announcement video for her annual Savage X Fenty show.

From Essence.com

This sultry ballad about break-ups and make-ups in the City of Angels is haunting stuff.

From The Daily Beast

McDonough, in contrast, sells posters of herself in revealing clothing leaning over a car in a sultry manner.

From The Daily Beast

The sultry chanteuse enraged the daughter of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain with comments she made about wanting to die young.

From The Daily Beast

Next came sultry photos of Tom Ford and Aleksander Skarsgaard.

From The Daily Beast

The film, silent and seven minutes in length, featured cabaret star Louise Willy performing a sultry striptease.

From The Daily Beast

About midnight the combination of sultry heat and banked clouds produced the usual results.

From Project Gutenberg

A young Englishman, a wine merchant, accompanied us in our journey through this sultry valley and was our cicerone.

From Project Gutenberg

The thermometer now ranged between 87 and 89 degrees and the weather was consequently extremely oppressive and sultry.

From Project Gutenberg

Can it be this minute dust affecting the lungs which makes us breathe as if in the sultry hours preceding a thunder-storm?

From Project Gutenberg

It was a sultry summer day; all the study doors were open, and all their occupants were absent in the cricket-field, or bathing.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hot
• muggy
• oppressive
• scorching
• sizzling
• soggy
• sticky
• stifling
• sweltering
• torrid