wintry

adjective

win·​try ˈwin-trē How to pronounce wintry (audio)
variants or less commonly wintery
wintrier; wintriest
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of winter
2
a
: weathered by or as if by winter : aged, hoary
b
: cheerless, chilling
a wintry greeting
wintriness noun

Examples of wintry in a Sentence

a wintry mix of sleet and snow She gave me a wintry welcome.
Recent Examples on the Web From the iconic mountain municipalities of Colorado to the wintriest escapes in the Northeast, here's where to plan a stateside ski vacation. Kayleigh Kulp, Travel + Leisure, 30 Oct. 2023 Conveniently sheltering their attractions from the elements, the best indoor water parks in the U.S. can become toasty escapes on the wintriest or rainiest days. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 5 June 2023 It’s all very wintry and chilly and dark, but lovely as well. Erik Kain, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2023 Bridget Torres is a prominent national news weather forecaster who comes to the magical, wintry town of Leavenworth, Washington, where Christmas traditions prevail each holiday season. al, 2 Dec. 2022 Yet Saturday’s temperatures, so reminiscent of early winter, did not seem especially wintry. Martin Weil, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wintry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wintry was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near wintry

Cite this Entry

“Wintry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wintry. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wintry

adjective
win·​try ˈwin-trē How to pronounce wintry (audio)
wintrier; wintriest
1
: of, relating to, or typical of winter
wintry weather
2
: not warm and friendly : cheerless
a wintry welcome
wintriness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on wintry

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!