balmy

adjective

ˈbä-mē  ˈbäl-mē 

balmier; balmiest

1

a

: having the qualities of balm : soothing

… 'tis a soldier's life to have their balmy slumbers wak'd with strife.

—Shakespeare

b

: mild, temperate

balmy weather

a balmy summer evening

2

: lacking reason or mental soundness : foolish, irrational

… he is now likely to feel that a rather large part of the country has gone slightly balmy.

—George A. Parks

balmily

ˈbä(l)-mə-lē 

adverb

balminess

ˈbä(l)-mē-nəs 

noun

Did you know?

Aromatic ointments and fragrances are the bomb. They are also, literally, balms: healing substances and soothing scents with the power to ease both mind and body. The original balm, what Latin-speakers referred to as balsamum, was the oleoresin of a species of balsam tree. In Anglo-French, balsamum became basme and baume, spellings which entered Middle English and later became balm. Balm eventually begat the adjective balmy, used to describe things with a balm’s comforting, calming qualities, as when Shakespeare’s Othello speaks of “balmy slumbers.” Today balmy is typically used to describe the weather—balmy breezes, balmy temperatures, balmy spring afternoons, et al—conditions that are neither too hot nor too cold, but just right—Goldilocks conditions, even.

Synonyms

• temperate
• sunny
• mild

Examples of balmy in a Sentence

a completely balmy but harmless old man who talked intently to plants and believed they answered back

a pleasant, balmy breeze was all that stirred the wildflowers growing near the shore

Recent Examples on the Web

Spending a beautiful summer evening inside a dark cinema just feels wrong—but the thing about Istanbul is that pretty much every single evening from May through to September is balmy, sunny, and gorgeous. —Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025

On balmy mornings in August, get up early to see this elusive planet climbing almost straight up above the point of sunrise. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 24 June 2025

The National Weather Service predicts a sunny and balmy day on Saturday for Kansas City. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2025

The memories of the shooting on the balmy spring afternoon were not far behind. —Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see balm

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for balmy

• brahmi
• commie
• mommy
• palmy
• rami
• saami
• swami
• swamy
• tommy
• salami
• tatami
• thalami

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Kids Definition

balmy

adjective

ˈbäm-ē  ˈbäl-mē 

balmier; balmiest

1

a

: gently soothing

b

: temperate sense 5

balmy weather

2

: foolish, absurd

balmily

ˈbäm-ə-lē 

ˈbäl-mə-

adverb

balminess

ˈbäm-ē-nəs 

ˈbäl-mē-

noun