stuffy Hear it!

stuffy definition

stuffy (stuf′ē)

adjective stuffier stuff′i·er, stuffiest stuff′i·est

    1. poorly ventilated; having little fresh air; close
    2. stale or oppressive the stuffy air
  2. having the nasal passages stopped up, as from a cold
  3. Informal
    1. dull or stodgy; not interesting or stimulating
    2. conservative, conventional, old-fashioned, etc.
    3. prim; strait-laced
    4. pompous; pretentious

Etymology: stuff + -y

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

stuffy Synonyms

stuffy

modif.

  1. Close

    confined, stagnant, muggy; see close 5.

  2. *Conservative

    conventional, stodgy, uninteresting; see conservative, dull 3, 4, old-fashioned.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

stuffy Usage Examples

Preposition: in

  • summer: Too Hot - Too Cold Many shops are cold and drafty in winter or hot and stuffy in summer.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • sound: Well, ' worst ' might be too harsh, but when compared to the PCM track, it sounds a bit stuffy.

Modifies a noun

  • nose: These events contribute to the stuffy, runny nose that accompanies a cold.

Modifying Another Word

  • rather: The BBC also introduced an alternative to the rather stuffy Home Service.

Used with adjective complement

  • get: It's pretty hot and the city can get pretty stuffy.
stuffy usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"stuffy." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/stuffy>

APA Style

stuffy. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/stuffy

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment