sultrier; sultriest
1
a
: very hot and humid : sweltering
a sultry day
b
: burning hot : torrid
a sultry sun
2
a
: hot with passion or anger
b
: exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire
sultry glances
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
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 on the Web
Sabrina Carpenter put a sultry spin on suiting while attending Louis Vuitton‘s spring 2025 menswear show in Paris on Tuesday.
—Hannah Malach, WWD, 18 June 2024
The sultry crooner, whose medical history includes cardiac disease, a defibrillator, and stents, was transported to the emergency room in an ambulance in April of 2023 after presenting with difficulty breathing and chest pain and placed on oxygen.
—Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 18 June 2024
Most rooms have cement ceilings and sultry, standalone walk-in glass showers that are only separated from the rest of the room by a curtain.
—Emily Hochberg, Travel + Leisure, 17 June 2024
Inside, behind the black and gold bar there's a wall dedicated to compromising Polaroid photos of customers, which gives the space either a sultry or a frat boy vibe, depending on your perspective.
—Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sultry 
Hannah Malach, WWD, 18 June 2024
The sultry crooner, whose medical history includes cardiac disease, a defibrillator, and stents, was transported to the emergency room in an ambulance in April of 2023 after presenting with difficulty breathing and chest pain and placed on oxygen.
—Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 18 June 2024
Most rooms have cement ceilings and sultry, standalone walk-in glass showers that are only separated from the rest of the room by a curtain.
—Emily Hochberg, Travel + Leisure, 17 June 2024
Inside, behind the black and gold bar there's a wall dedicated to compromising Polaroid photos of customers, which gives the space either a sultry or a frat boy vibe, depending on your perspective.
—Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sultry
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sultry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sultry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sultry. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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