1
as in close
lacking fresh air
the house was very stuffy after being closed up for a month
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
nothing stuffy about this science museum—it's all interactive and fun
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
those nursing home residents with a reputation for being chronically stuffy were usually the last to receive attention
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stuffy
Try to avoid heavy, constantly wet clay and stuffy, humid spaces.
—
Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 11 Mar. 2026
Yet the stuffiest etiquette experts would surely make an exception for the queen of England.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 10 Mar. 2026
Olivia Colman, ‘The Favourite’ (2019) Director Yorgos Lanthimos blew up the stuffy period piece with this gonzo 18th-century comedy.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Mix quilts, checks, and weathered wood for a nostalgic look that’s warm but not stuffy.
—Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stuffy
Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 11 Mar. 2026
Yet the stuffiest etiquette experts would surely make an exception for the queen of England.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 10 Mar. 2026
Olivia Colman, ‘The Favourite’ (2019) Director Yorgos Lanthimos blew up the stuffy period piece with this gonzo 18th-century comedy.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Mix quilts, checks, and weathered wood for a nostalgic look that’s warm but not stuffy.
—Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stuffy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stuffy
Adjective
-
Many of the scouts in attendance on Tuesday — from about half the NFL teams — would have been keeping a close eye on left tackle Kage Casey.—
Darin Oswald,
Idaho Statesman,
25 Mar. 2026
-
If balloons are around, close supervision is required.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Simply, Florida’s Pro Day was as boring as ever.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Given a list, the sorts of things Americans are comfortable with AI doing tend to be impersonal or even boring tasks, as well as those that less directly impact them, like proofreading or searching online.—
Anthony Salvanto,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Caroly is immediately affected, glued to the TV; John, suddenly irritable, retreats.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Rather than get irritable online, Medeiros did something positive about it.—
Dan Medeiros,
The Herald News,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When swallowing becomes difficult, eating can feel tiring or uncomfortable.—
Sundeep Venkatesan,
The Conversation,
23 Mar. 2026
-
And adopting the mantle of cultural curmudgeon can get tiring.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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If left alone, the spacecraft will lose the race later this year and fall out of orbit, bringing a fiery end to its long scientific tenure.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2026
-
This is how friends and family described 18-year-old Park Hill High School senior Tessa Walker, who was killed in a fiery crash in rural Platte County early Sunday morning.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Georgia will surely be ready and focused on its home floor following two consecutive losses, but Bucky Ball and its suffocating style from a fresh A&M team will be too much for the Bulldogs.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
30 Jan. 2026
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Justin Edmonds / Getty Images Darnold, Mike Macdonald and a suffocating defense have led the Seahawks to the big stage for the fourth time in franchise history.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
It's typically utilized on things like hinges, locks, gears and machinery, in dusty environments where traditional lubricants would attract debris.—
Ben Coxworth
March 27,
New Atlas,
27 Mar. 2026
-
On this gravelly, dusty, single lane, Bob Markle applied a pursuit trick that wardens learn early.—
Dave Duffey,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There is a lot of breathless talk of autonomous agents reshaping every corner of corporate America, from handling sales calls to writing code to managing supply chains.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
In the breathless reporting that followed, Barkley publicly denied dating Madonna before the 1993 NBA finals.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stuffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stuffy. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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