sunny
Americanadjective
-
full of or exposed to sunlight
-
radiating good humour
-
of or resembling the sun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sunny
Explanation
Sunny means shining with bright sunlight, like a beautiful sunny Saturday at the beach. It can also mean cheerful, like your sunny, upbeat best friend. When the sun is shining, it's a sunny day, and when you're smiling and friendly, you're sunny too. Sunny has been used in this figurative way since the 16th century, and in the 1830s, sunny side came to mean "optimistic outlook." However, if you order your eggs sunny side up, it just means you'll get two fried eggs with bright yellow, runny yolks.
Vocabulary lists containing sunny
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -y
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Spelling Practice 1, Unit 6
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
Other apps might even be inclined to deploy a sunny icon, because technically it is going to be warm in most of that area, and watery only in a different section.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
While the market has risen, its gains haven’t quite kept up with Wall Street’s increasingly sunny outlook for corporate earnings growth.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
The researchers found evidence of new particle formation on more than 80% of sunny days, suggesting the phenomenon is common in this part of the Arctic.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
“The minute it’s bright and sunny, people just lose their minds,” said Harriet Stansell, 35, who enjoys cycling through London and seeing the crowded pub scenes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
And as she swam into the sunny upper ocean, her battery began refilling with energy.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
It will then turn drier and sunnier for all parts over the weekend with some light winds.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Before relocating to a quieter, sunnier place by the beach, I lived in and around New York City for nearly a decade.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026
Representatives of the U.S. government also projected a sunnier outlook in public and in private.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
But these are all emergency constraints; the long-term trendlines are much sunnier.
From Slate ● Mar. 12, 2026
I thought it'd get sunnier once we crossed the bridge, but the weather’s overcast, a dull gray.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
The month of July was also the "sunniest month ever observed" in Britain, the Met Office said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
The UK had its warmest and sunniest year on record in 2025, according to the Met Office, with an average temperature of 10.09C.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
The school operates in Redding, she said, because it is one of the sunniest cities in the United States, allowing for more than 300 flying days per year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
But solar-powered electricity rose by nearly a third on 2024 levels, helped by the UK's sunniest year on record and the expansion of solar panels around the country.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026
Without saying a word to anyone, she prepared one of the largest, sunniest rooms in the house.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
