airy
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɛə.ɹi/
ipa: [ˈɛː.ɹi]
enpr: ârʹē
note: Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈɛɹ.i/
note: Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: [ˈɛ˞.i]
note: without the Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈɛɚ.i/
ipa: /ˈeː.ɹi/
note: without the cheer–chair merger
ipa: /ˈeəɹi/
note: New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
ipa: /ˈiəɹi/
ipa: /ˈeɹɪ/
ipa: /ˈeɹe/
note: Lancashire, fair–fur merger
ipa: /ˈɜːɹɪ/
rhymes: -ɛəɹi
homophone: eerie (cheer–chair merger)
Forms: form: airier
form: airiest
Etymology: From air + -y.
Senses: examples: text: an airy substance; the airy parts of bodies
glosses: Consisting of air.
examples: text: an airy flight
glosses: Relating or belonging to air; high in air; aerial.
examples: text: It was a good solid house, fanless but airy.
ref: 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 255:
text: an airy situation
glosses: Open to a free current of air; exposed to the air; breezy.
examples: text: Neither diamond-hardness nor airy intangibility can save you from this, the searing agony of death!
ref: 1977 July 10, Jim Shooter, “Beware the Ant-Man!”, in Avengers, volume 1, number 161, panel 5, Marvel Comics, page 14:
glosses: Resembling air; thin; unsubstantial; not material; airlike.
examples: airy music
glosses: Relating to the spirit or soul; delicate; graceful.
examples: text: Ah me, ah me! No other ghost has haunted the boy’s room, my friends, since I have occupied it, than the ghost of my own childhood, the ghost of my own innocence, the ghost of my own airy belief.
ref: 1859 December 13, Charles Dickens, “The Ghost in Master B’s Room”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Whiting, […], →OCLC, page 30:
text: One critic [Madeleine Schwartz] recently noted that the politics of Rooney’s novels were largely “gestural,” with airy mentions of Gaza or austerity protests but not much radical substance.
ref: 2019 April 12, Annalisa Quinn, “The Small Rebellions of Sally Rooney’s Normal People”, in The Atlantic:
synonyms: empty
trifling
visionary
glosses: Not based on reality; having no solid foundation
synonyms: sprightly
flippant
superficial
glosses: light-hearted; vivacious
glosses: Having an affected manner; being in the habit of putting on airs; affectedly grand.
qualifier: painting
glosses: Having the light and aerial tints true to nature.
examples: text: The station has a bright and airy feel and the refurbishment works have provided a modern and inviting station environment for passengers.
ref: 2020 December 2, Andy Coward, “New-look Reading is willing and able”, in Rail, page 59:
glosses: Spacious, well lit, well ventilated.
raw_tags: of a room or building
Synonyms: sense: consisting of air
word: aereous
sense: resembling air
word: aereous
word: gaseous
sense: relating to the spirit or soul
word: ethereal
sense: not based on reality
word: empty
sense: not based on reality
word: trifling
sense: not based on reality
word: visionary
sense: light-hearted; vivacious
word: flippant
word: sprightly
word: superficial
word: carefree
Derived terms: airily
airiness
airy fairy
Mount Airy