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stormy
[ stawr-mee ]
adjective
- affected, characterized by, or subject to storms; tempestuous:
a stormy sea.
- characterized by violent commotion, actions, speech, passions, etc.:
a stormy debate.
stormy
/ ˈstɔːmɪ /
adjective
- characterized by storms
- subject to, involving, or characterized by violent disturbance or emotional outburst
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Derived Forms
- ˈstorminess, noun
- ˈstormily, adverb
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Other Words From
- stormi·ly adverb
- stormi·ness noun
- un·stormi·ly adverb
- un·stormi·ness noun
- un·stormy adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Example Sentences
That 25 million gallons treated at the international plant only accounts for a quarter of the water spilling over the border during one of those stormy, billion-gallon days.
Once upon a time not long ago, Rico Nasty decided that her new album should start with some fast fun, so please try not to blink or spit out your beverage when she raps, “On a dark and stormy night, I don’t blend in, b----, I shine bright.”
Now she’ll stand at the helm of the Democratic ship for one final voyage across the stormy seas of the Beltway before handing over the rudder.
They can sometimes bring stormy weather and are usually marked by a red line with semicircles pointing in the direction of the front’s movement.
The resulting clouds were stormy but very high, their bases at least 3,000 meters aboveground.
Subsequent guests have included comedian Margaret Cho and self proclaimed “hurricane of intellectual sexuality,” Stormy Leather.
The word most used to describe it, including by Kathryn, was “stormy.”
The log cabin in which they sleep has no floor or window, and wind and rain pour in during the stormy days.
In riveting testimony, Arias also described the stormy affair that had led her to the courtroom.
A couple getting off the Gray Line tour bus had just flown in from Mexico City on Wednesday night, missing the stormy conditions.
It was a cloudy, stormy evening: high wind was blowing, and the branches of the trees groaned and creaked above our heads.
Little Rye was sown, but that little is very good; Barley is suffering from the stormy weather, but is quite thrifty.
The season was stormy, and contrary winds prevailed the greater part of the time.
From the 5th to the 10th of July, we had continued stormy and cold weather, with a heavy sea, and great rolling of the ship.
It was a cheerless morning when they got into the street, blowing and raining hard, and the clouds looking dull and stormy.
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Related Words
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More About Stormy
What does stormy mean?
Stormy literally describes weather that has resulted in storms or that indicates that storms are coming—especially conditions like dark clouds, strong winds, thunder, lightning, and rain. It is often used in the phrase stormy weather.
It can also be used to describe a place that frequently has storms.
Stormy can also be used in a figurative way to describe a situation that’s full of conflict and commotion, as in Things got a bit stormy at the council meeting when members started making accusations against each other.
Example: Expect stormy skies on your commute this morning—it looks like we’ll get some intense rainstorms starting around 9 o’clock.
Where does stormy come from?
The first records of the word stormy come from around the second half of the 1100s. It derives from the Old English stormig, also meaning “stormy.” Stormy uses the suffix –y to turn the noun storm into an adjective. (The same thing is done for other weather conditions, such as windy, cloudy, and rainy.)
It was a dark and stormy night is a cliché way to start a story, but you know exactly what it means—the wind is howling, the rain is beating against the window, the thunder is shaking the house. Most literally, stormy refers to the conditions of a storm or describes the conditions right before a storm happens. When someone tells you the weather has been stormy, they usually mean it’s been intensely rainy and windy, perhaps with some thunder and lightning, not just a light drizzle. Stormy can also be applied to places affected by a storm, as in stormy seas or the stormy atmosphere of Jupiter.
When stormy is used metaphorically, it’s often applied to situations or relationships that involve intense or frequent arguments whose violence and destruction are likened to that of a storm. In phrases like a stormy marriage, the word stormy implies the opposite of calmness—strong winds and thunder are used as a metaphor for loud, contentious arguments. It can also be used to describe a dark mood, a strong temper, or other similar individual traits.
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What are some other forms related to stormy?
- storm (noun)
- storminess (noun)
- stormily (adverb)
- unstormily (adverb)
- unstorminess (noun)
What are some synonyms for stormy?
What are some words that share a root or word element with stormy?
What are some words that often get used in discussing stormy?
How is stormy used in real life?
Stormy is commonly used in both a literal and figurative way. In both cases, it’s fairly informal.
Programming note: Detailed story on very windy and stormy weather expected in DMV late tonight and tomorrow coming early this afternoon.
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) April 12, 2020
I thought about my dad today. He was tough & we had a stormy relationship, but he was a profoundly dedicated dad, & no one understood me better. I lived in Eastern Europe for much of my 30s—he & my mom came to visit a few years before he died. I miss you & your wise counsel, dad. pic.twitter.com/mh2DEX8OFv
— Josh Morgerman (@iCyclone) June 17, 2019
It's surprising enough that Fognini took that set, but especially surprising that Fog was down 3-1 and in a familiarly stormy mood and pulled himself out of it.#SPORTS
— Matt Zemek (@mzemek) April 20, 2019
Try using stormy!
Is sto,rmy used correctly in the following sentence?
Her stormy expression implied that things had not gone well.
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