wintry
Americanadjective
adjective
-
(esp of weather) of or characteristic of winter
-
lacking cheer or warmth; bleak
Other Word Forms
- unwintry adjective
- wintrily adverb
- wintriness noun
Etymology
Origin of wintry
First recorded before 900; Old English wintrig (not recorded in Middle English ); see winter, -y 1
Explanation
If it makes you think of winter, it's wintry. Use the adjective wintry to describe a cold, gray January day. The adjective wintry is sometimes spelled wintery. Either way, it describes something that happens in the winter time, or that reminds you of winter in some way. A photograph of your uncle's snow-covered Christmas tree farm shows a wintry scene, and a blustery wind on a February morning will feel wintry. It can also describe a person who is emotionally cool or unfriendly: "Her greeting was wintry, and she refused to shake my hand."
Vocabulary lists containing wintry
Chill Out! Synonyms for "Cold"
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!
Neighborhood Odes
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!
Cold
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Days lengthen and the Sun gets stronger, but when cold air moves in from the north, we can be quickly plunged back into wintry weather.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
The government has credited wintry weather with a recent lull in the disease.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
On Saturday a colder north-westerly wind will bring a mixture of sunny spells and wintry showers.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Coastal and lowland areas tend to warm more quickly, while northern and upland regions remain cooler and more prone to wintry showers.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
The cobs of the corn they had dried and eaten and they stripped the bark from trees and all over the countryside people were eating what grass they could find upon the wintry hills.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
