downy

adjective \ ˈdau̇-nē \

|Updated on: 25 Jun 2018

Examples: downy in a Sentence

Definition of downy

downier; downiest

1 : resembling a bird's down

2 : covered with down

3 : made of down

4 : soft, soothing

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Examples of downy in a Sentence

the downy surface of a ripe peach

Recent Examples of downy from the Web

Up in Montana, one of the earliest, in 2005, to erect fancy tents with framed art on the canvas walls, rugs on the wood floors and downy duvets on the log-frame beds, introduced glamping’s first three-bedroom, two-bathroom tents last summer.

— elaine glusac, New York Times, "Glamping Slips Into the Mainstream," 15 June 2018
Warm weather brings on powdery mildew, which covers a plant with a downy, white fungal coating that sucks nutrients out of the leaves.

— the editors of organic life, Good Housekeeping, "Growing Peas Has Never Been Easier Than This," 31 Mar. 2017
The spots enlarge and are mirrored on the undersurface of the leaf with a white downy growth.

— the editors of organic life, Good Housekeeping, "Grow Healthy Food By Identifying + Treating These Common Plant Diseases," 21 July 2015
At the base of each hair, the downy fur resembled the gradient pattern of quail feathers in an exotic ripple of gray changing to brown.

— author: christine cunningham, Anchorage Daily News, "The plan was to get a pair of beaver mittens and learn a new skill. The therapy was a bonus.," 28 Feb. 2018
Rainbow,’ this time offering 4-inch rows of downy-white tepals and the same recurved, dark red styles.

— earl nickel, San Francisco Chronicle, "Grevilleas for the fall garden," 27 Oct. 2017
This dinosaur was smaller than the T. rex, but about the same size as the Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus, which means that size can’t be the only factor that determines whether or not a dino sports a downy coat.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "T. Rex Was Likely Covered in Scales, Not Feathers," 8 June 2017
Mr. Quesne, a French theatermaker and visual artist, has fashioned a downy winter landscape at the Kitchen and populated it with a hatchback full of chip-eating, beer-drinking, AC/DC-loving hard rockers.

— alexis soloski, New York Times, "Subscribe to the Theater Newsletter," 11 Jan. 2017
Big Bop’ll trade a B flat for a B, A neck for a neck, a tooth for a tee, A downy quilt bedbug for a fur cap-fat flea—

— adrienne raphel, New Republic, "Boardwalk Block," 2 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'downy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.