sultry
Americanadjective
-
oppressively hot and close or moist; sweltering.
a sultry day.
- Synonyms:
- humid, stifling, oppressive
-
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.
adjective
-
(of weather or climate) oppressively hot and humid
-
characterized by or emitting oppressive heat
-
displaying or suggesting passion; sensual
sultry eyes
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sultry
Explanation
Stifling, humid and downright oppressive, sultry is an adjective that has everything to do with sweltering heat and a definite need for a tall glass of iced tea. You know how movies about the Old South always show people wilting in the shade of their front porches, mopping their damp brows? Well that's because of the sultry summer weather. A sultry atmosphere is a thick, almost swampy feeling. And all that heavy heat can certainly get passions stirring — "a sultry look" is one that happens to express steamy desire.
Vocabulary lists containing sultry
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Term-ometer: Synonyms for "Hot"
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
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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.
See Examples For:
The sultry “Hard Times” combines a slow cha-cha-cha rhythm with strings, horns, electric keyboards and a reverb-heavy bass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Bourzgui’s David has all the hallmarks of a rock idol — sultry looks, a sinister smile and talent to burn.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Porter originally wrote it as a sultry bolero, but Sinatra and Riddle supercharge it into one of the singer’s most celebrated uptempo showcases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
Like an ice cube on a sultry summer day, Greenland’s ice sheet is melting, and that water, flowing into the ocean, is steadily raising sea level globally.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2025
And so it was that in the giddy, sultry world of their embrace, the real Lazlo—fast asleep in the city of Weep—turned over on his pillow, crushed the moth, and broke the dream.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Van Morrison’s Moondance, despite being constantly wrung out by classic-rock radio and adult-contemporary stations alike, still evokes the possibility offered by summertime’s shorter, sultrier nights.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 14, 2015
A yet sultrier warmth was bestowed by a goodly quantity of peat, which was crumbling to white ashes among the burning brands, and incensed the kitchen with its not ungrateful fragrance.
From The Blithedale Romance by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Then—for thy shelter from life's sultrier suns, The oak of strength I set o'er joy that runs With brooklet glee from winds that grieve above.
From Song-Surf by Rice, Cale Young
One evening it seemed hotter and sultrier than ever.
From Our Home in the Silver West A Story of Struggle and Adventure by Stables, Gordon
Instead of the night becoming cooler it had grown sultrier, and in places the walk was fairly packed with human beings.
From Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman by Lillibridge, Will
The three hottest years in the past century have come in the past decade, and 1995 was the sultriest on record.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the sultriest weather this little arbor was cool and pleasant, and here Napoleon was in the habit of taking his books and papers when he wished to work out of doors.
From Napoleon's Young Neighbor by Reed, Helen Leah
It was the sultriest day of the whole season—surely they could not think of shutting up the second-floor back windows to-night!
From A Rogue's Life by Collins, Wilkie
The June day was at its sultriest hour.
From Whirligigs by Henry, O.
It was one of the sultriest days of August, but the air was vividly fresh, and the sun, with all the strength of the climate of Italy, was unoppressive.
From Pencillings by the Way Written During Some Years of Residence and Travel in Europe by Willis, N. Parker
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.
