wintry

adjective win·try \ ˈwin-trē \

variants: or less commonly wintery play \ˈwin-t(ə-)rē\

Definition of wintry

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

play \ˈwin-trē-nəs\ noun

See wintry defined for English-language learners

See wintry defined for kids

Examples of wintry in a Sentence

a wintry mix of sleet and snow
She gave me a wintry welcome.

Recent Examples of wintry from the Web

The Americans received a warm, albeit initially stern, reception in the dour, still-wintry atmosphere of the otherwise empty Provideniya Bay airport in the Chukotka District of Russia.

— zaz hollander, Alaska Dispatch News, "Alaskans in Cessna 172 make goodwill flight to Russia," 27 June 2017
The Briton had envisioned spending this dark wintry night with hundreds of fellow rugby union fans, but instead found himself in an empty car park.

— aimee lewis, CNN, "Lions fan ends up sleeping in All Blacks' home -- but did not know who they were," 26 June 2017
Set artists Charles Gliha and Hubert Wisniewski created believable evocations of the garret shared by Rodolfo and Marcello, the brilliant street and cafe scene of Act Two, and the grim and wintry Barriere de l'Enfer of Act Three.

— special to the plain dealer, cleveland.com, "The Cleveland Opera mounts felicitous, understated 'La Boheme' (review)," 13 June 2017
More scenes of battle, wintry landscapes, and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) riding a horse are edited together.

— kristi turnquist, OregonLive.com, "'Game of Thrones' Season 7 first look: 'The great war is here' (Photos)," 24 May 2017
The wintry scene features an ominous wolf, slightly oversize in scale, but the dead have nothing to fear.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "Jessie Homer French at Various Small Fires: In death, she finds life," 6 May 2017
This year the risk was acute because of an early spring that caused vines to bud just as wintry weather returned.

— guy collins, Bloomberg.com, "France’s Top Vineyards Suffer Biggest Loss in Decades," 5 May 2017
And what’s nicer than coming home from the office on a wintry day to smell a house as a home, or on a sultry summer evening when most of the kitchen cooking heat is trapped in a little electric box on the counter, not bellowing out of the oven?

— bill st. john, The Denver Post, "Low and slow: The skills you need to create an epic slow cooker meal, plus a few recipe ideas," 19 Apr. 2017
Television is about to be hit with a blast of cold, wintry chill.

— chuck barney, The Mercury News, "‘Fargo’: 5 things you need to know about Season 3," 13 Apr. 2017

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

First Known Use of wintry

before 12th century

wintry Synonyms

WINTRY Defined for English Language Learners

wintry

adjective

Definition of wintry for English Language Learners

: relating to, happening during, or typical of winter
: not cheerful or friendly

WINTRY Defined for Kids

wintry

adjective win·try \ ˈwin-trē \

Definition of wintry for Students

wintrier; wintriest

1 :marked by or characteristic of winter

a wintry landscape

wintry weather

2 :not friendly :cold

a wintry welcome

Learn More about wintry

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for wintry Spanish Central: Translation of wintry Nglish: Translation of wintry for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of wintry for Arabic speakers

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wintry

Definition of wintry

wintriness

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Examples of wintry in a Sentence

Recent Examples of wintry from the Web

First Known Use of wintry

wintry Synonyms

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WINTRY Defined for English Language Learners

wintry

Definition of wintry for English Language Learners

WINTRY Defined for Kids

wintry

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