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
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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:
It also features sparkling cameos from Penélope Cruz as a sultry cabaret dancer and Glenn Close as a Spanish-speaking American professor.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
After an opening salvo of rap-centric tracks, Swim was moody and sultry, with flowing choreography that underscored its message of persevering in choppy waters.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 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
Even masala chai would lose its signature, sultry kick.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026
The dyeing yard, affected by the fire, was already sultry and almost oppressive.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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
One evening it seemed hotter and sultrier than ever.
From Our Home in the Silver West A Story of Struggle and Adventure by Gordon Stables
See, rather, under sultrier skies What vegetable Londons rise, And teem, and suffer without sound: Or in your tranquil garden ground, Contented, in the falling gloom, Saunter and see the roses bloom.
From Songs of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson
The strip of blue sky was curtained over again, and all was dismal as before, though it grew sultrier every moment; and now and then a distant mutter shook the air to westward.
From Westward Ho!, or, the voyages and adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the county of Devon, in the reign of her most glorious majesty Queen Elizabeth by Charles Kingsley
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 Nathaniel Hawthorne
Shout out to future “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson, who joined Journey for “Raised on Radio” and proceeded to lay down the slinkiest, sultriest, funkiest bass line the band had ever known.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
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 Helen Leah Reed
The June day was at its sultriest hour.
From Whirligigs by O. Henry
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 N. Parker Willis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
