Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Moist with or as if with dew.
  • adjective Accompanied by dew.
  • adjective Suggestive of the freshness or purity of dew, as in innocence or naiveté.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to dew.
  • Of the nature or appearance of dew; like dew: as, dewy tears.
  • Moist with or as if with dew.
  • Accompanied with dew; abounding in dew.
  • Falling gently, or refreshing, like dew: as, “dewy sleep ambrosial,”
  • In botany, appearing as if covered with dew.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining to dew; resembling, consisting of, or moist with, dew.
  • adjective Falling gently and beneficently, like the dew.
  • adjective (Bot.) Resembling a dew-covered surface; appearing as if covered with dew.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Covered by dew.
  • adjective Having the quality of bearing droplets of water.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective wet with dew

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From dew + -y

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Examples

  • It was one of those mornings steeped in dewy freshness, when distant sounds and sights are brought supernaturally near, when lights are strangely bright, and shadows transparent, and the very mountains look more awake than usual.

    Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys 1873

  • I mean the restoration of oxygen to the atmosphere from the surface of the earth in dewy mornings, as well as from the perspiration of vegetable leaves; which atmospheric oxygen is hourly destructible by the respiration of animals and plants, by combustion, and by other oxydations.

    Note XII 1803

  • I attempted an expression of dewy maternal remembrance and tried to squash the guilt rising through my body, because the truth was that a doctor’s appointment was once again not on my agenda for the day.

    Goodnight Nobody Jennifer Weiner 2005

  • I attempted an expression of dewy maternal remembrance and tried to squash the guilt rising through my body, because the truth was that a doctor’s appointment was once again not on my agenda for the day.

    Goodnight Nobody Jennifer Weiner 2005

  • I attempted an expression of dewy maternal remembrance and tried to squash the guilt rising through my body, because the truth was that a doctor’s appointment was once again not on my agenda for the day.

    Goodnight Nobody Jennifer Weiner 2005

  • She was truly pretty, but no one would call her dewy.

    As Husbands Go Susan Isaacs 2010

  • She was truly pretty, but no one would call her dewy.

    As Husbands Go Susan Isaacs 2010

  • If there was a stereotypical independent movie that year, it could be described as a dewy, decent and deadly story about the coming of age of a sensitive Midwestern farm girl.

    Up Where The Air Is Clear 2008

  • I can recall the dewy eyes of Kelli White at the world championships in Paris last summer when, after winning the 100 and 200 meters, she tested positive for a stimulant most often used to treat narcolepsy.

    Starr Gazing: Jewels of Denial 2007

  • What does the word "dewy" suggest as to the habits of the bird?

    Elson Grammar School Literature v4 William H. Elson

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