adjective
-
of or having the appearance of silver
the silvery moon
-
containing or covered with silver
-
having a clear ringing sound
Other Word Forms
- silveriness noun
Etymology
Origin of silvery
Explanation
Anything that has a shiny gray color is silvery, like the silvery moonlit surface of a pond at night. The adjective silvery is perfect for describing things that shimmer and glow like silver, whether it's the silverly hue of your grandmother's long hair, silvery moth wings, or the silvery sardines in the tin you just opened. You can also use it to describe ringing, melodious sounds: "I'd know the silvery sound of her laughter anywhere!"
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.
And while such daily interactions are reduced to thumbs slipping over greasy rectangles of glass, pinball is irreducibly concrete: physics and mechanics turned into dazzling entertainment, a silvery dance with gravity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
“It’s annoyingly heavy,” Tenev said at one point, flashing his silvery card.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
It looked like the silvery blade of a knife.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026
He lacked the abrasiveness or gruffness found in many metal singers, opting instead for a theatrical melodic yowl with silvery overtones.
From Salon • Jul. 26, 2025
Where the veil broke, you could see silvery islands of clouds on which tall angels might stand.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
