sultry
adjective
sul·try
| \ ˈsəl-trē
\
\
sultrier;
sultriest
Definition of sultry
1a
: very hot and humid : sweltering
a sultry day
b
: burning hot : torrid
a sultry sun
2a
: hot with passion or anger
b
: exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire
sultry glances
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Other Words from sultry
sultrily
\ ˈsəl-trə-lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
sultriness
\ ˈsəl-trē-nəs
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of sultry in a Sentence
In the one Manet Stephen owned, Young Woman Reclining in Spanish Costume (1862–1863), the plump young model provokes us with her sultry gaze, her awkward semi-recumbent position, her casually defiant cross-dressing in a male torero's shiny trousers, and the come-hither implication of her highlighted hands …
— John Updike, New York Review of Books, 5 Oct. 2006
As the fireflies entertain humans all summer long with a magical light show, they are actually cruising the sultry nights in search of love. "Male fireflies fly around flashing their advertisement," says evolutionary ecologist Sara Lewis of Tufts, one of the authors of the study, which appeared in the journal Science recently.
— Betsy Mason, Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2001
In an age when the gangsta rapper is king and pubescent boy and girl groups rule the charts with a tough … version of adolescent bubble-gum pop, Toni Braxton is an anomaly. Her sultry good looks, rich, husky contralto and ability to deliver a line with such mature conviction make her seem older, more experienced than her 26 years.
— Gordon Chambers, Essence, April 1994
She looked at him with a sultry glance.
an actress with a sultry voice
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Recent Examples on the Web
In 1979, on a sultry evening in the old Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, N.Y., chaos erupted during a second-round match between John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase, the sport’s original bad boys. — New York Times, "A Night to Remember at the U.S. Open," 22 Aug. 2019 Twigs manages to hit all of these historical and sultry notes with these new Avantgarden images. — Vogue, "FKA Twigs Reveals Her Dream-Worthy Collection of Vivienne Westwood Corsets in Her New Zine," 23 May 2019 So as they get acclimated to the sultry summer conditions, the respective coaching staffs hope the players are ready to hit the ground running. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Fall is in the air as Pasadena ISD’s football camps get to work in an urgent way," 7 Aug. 2019 It’s early afternoon in Orlando, the hottest time of day on a characteristically sultry Wednesday in Florida, a state famous for its perennially warm, wet, shirt-soaking conditions, which just so happen to be pretty much perfect for playing tennis. — Robbie Gonzalez, WIRED, "How Elite Tennis Players Crank Out Serves at 150 MPH," 12 July 2019 But because this is Bella, the mane moment was accompanied by some seriously sultry makeup, black liner swinging from lids in a graphic cat eye that echoed her hair's angular edges. — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, "Bella Hadid Reveals a Radical New Pixie Cut at the Met Gala," 7 May 2019 The endless blue waters, castaway vibes, aquatic adventures, and sultry heat are just a few of the things that make the Maldives the ultimate baecation getaway. — Danielle Pointdujour, Essence, "Black Travel Vibes: Endless Blues Make The Maldives The Ultimate Baecation Getaway," 26 June 2019 Cardi has yet to comment on the indictment on her social media, but on Friday, hours after the news broke, the rapper shared a sultry photo of herself dressed up in Fenty lingerie for her upcoming film Hustlers. — Helen Murphy, PEOPLE.com, "Cardi B Cuddles Up with 11-Month-Old Daughter Kulture and Takes the Stage a Day After Indictment," 23 June 2019 The event, which began at around 7pm under sultry weather, was attended by over 8,000 guests, with around 10,000 security personnel specially deployed in and around the venue. — Kuwar Singh, Quartz India, "Narendra Modi begins his second term as India’s prime minister," 30 May 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sultry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for sultry
sultry
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of sultry
: very hot and humid
: attractive in a way that suggests or causes feelings of sexual desire
See the full definition for sultry in the English Language Learners Dictionary
sultry
adjective
sul·try
| \ ˈsəl-trē
\
\
sultrier;
sultriest
Kids Definition of sultry
: very hot and humid
sultry summer weather
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