Definition of sultry
sultrier
;sultriest
1a : very hot and humid : sweltering a sultry dayb : burning hot : torrid a sultry sun
2a : hot with passion or angerb : exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire sultry glances
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Examples of sultry in a Sentence
In the one Manet Stephen owned, Young Woman Reclining in Spanish Costume (1862–1863), the plump young model provokes us with her sultry gaze, her awkward semi-recumbent position, her casually defiant cross-dressing in a male torero's shiny trousers, and the come-hither implication of her highlighted hands … —John Updike, New York Review of Books, 5 Oct. 2006
As the fireflies entertain humans all summer long with a magical light show, they are actually cruising the sultry nights in search of love. “Male fireflies fly around flashing their advertisement,” says evolutionary ecologist Sara Lewis of Tufts, one of the authors of the study, which appeared in the journal Science recently. —Betsy Mason, Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2001
In an age when the gangsta rapper is king and pubescent boy and girl groups rule the charts with a tough … version of adolescent bubble-gum pop, Toni Braxton is an anomaly. Her sultry good looks, rich, husky contralto and ability to deliver a line with such mature conviction make her seem older, more experienced than her 26 years. —Gordon Chambers, Essence, April 1994
She looked at him with a sultry glance.
an actress with a sultry voice
Recent Examples of sultry from the Web
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Her voice, still ever so sultry, found a new level of vulnerability in the orchestral arrangements — something amazing given her voice’s formidability.
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That’s the news for this sultry Wednesday in New York.
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For many, the power cut out mysteriously in the silence of a sultry summer night (power lines a few miles down the road quickly succumbing to the onslaught of wind), and THEN about 30 seconds later, the winds crescendoed into their deafening roar.
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On a hot, sultry morning, a 50-car motorcade of players leaves the Emerson and Lord Baltimore hotels, inching toward 33rd Street as the big leaguers toss autographed plastic balls to cheering crowds lining the streets.
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The thunderstorms that swept across the city on a sultry July evening last year weren't unusual for a typical Chicago summer.
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In fact, there was something passive, almost feminine about his sexual persona, so fat-lipped was it, so sultry-eyed and lazy-limbed.
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Just in time for the holidays and those sultry days that force us inside our homes to keep cool—
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Now her voice is less opera and Broadway belt and more sultry soul and R&B, with an amazing control and range that come from her classical training.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sultry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of sultry
obsolete English sulter to swelter, alteration of English swelter
SULTRY Defined for English Language Learners
sultry
playDefinition of sultry for English Language Learners
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: very hot and humid
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: attractive in a way that suggests or causes feelings of sexual desire
SULTRY Defined for Kids
sultry
playDefinition of sultry for Students
sultrier
;sultriest
: very hot and humid sultry summer weather
Learn More about sultry
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sultry Spanish Central: Translation of sultry Nglish: Translation of sultry for Spanish speakers
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