breathy

adjective

ˈbre-thē 

breathier; breathiest

: characterized or accompanied by or as if by the audible passage of breath

breathily

ˈbre-thə-lē 

adverb

breathiness

ˈbre-thē-nəs 

noun

Examples of breathy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The piece, inspired by the 12th-century polymathic mystic Saint Hildegard of Bingen, was skin-tinglingly breathy and slow, with long tones (played by Malone and her accompanist Stephen O’Malley) that rose up and swirled around the room. — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 7 Aug. 2026

In the movie, which was released on September 28, 2022, Armas transformed into the blonde bombshell, breathy voice and all. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 29 July 2026

But to get ahead in 1950s Hollywood, Mansfield adopted an extreme version of Marilyn Monroe’s breathy voice. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 6 July 2026

One of the joys of Air, down to the breathy purity of its title, is its contempt for design—an easy target, but one for which Kracht has sharpened his blade. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above