Airy
['eərɪ] or ['ɛri]
Definition
(adj.) having little or no perceptible weight; so light as to resemble air; 'airy gauze curtains' .
(adj.) not practical or realizable; speculative; 'airy theories about socioeconomic improvement'; 'visionary schemes for getting rich' .
Editor: Meredith--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Consisting of air; as, an airy substance; the airy parts of bodies.
(a.) Relating or belonging to air; high in air; aerial; as, an airy flight.
(a.) Open to a free current of air; exposed to the air; breezy; as, an airy situation.
(a.) Resembling air; thin; unsubstantial; not material; airlike.
(a.) Relating to the spirit or soul; delicate; graceful; as, airy music.
(a.) Without reality; having no solid foundation; empty; trifling; visionary.
(a.) Light of heart; vivacious; sprightly; flippant; superficial.
(a.) Having an affected manner; being in the habit of putting on airs; affectedly grand.
(a.) Having the light and aerial tints true to nature.
Inputed by Barnard
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Unsubstantial, aerial, ethereal, aeriform, thin, rare.[2]. Light, subtile, sublimated.[3]. Sprightly, buoyant, vivacious, wanton, volatile, jocund, jolly, jovial, lively, gay, blithe, light, light-hearted, light of heart, in spirits, in good spirits, of good cheer.[4]. Showy, gaudy, flaunting, jaunty, gairish, fine.[5]. Windy, empty.
Typist: Vivienne
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Light, ethereal, spiritual, joyous, sprightly, lively, animated, frolicsome,fairy-like
ANT:Dull, inert, stony, ponderous, plow, heavy, cheerless, sullen, dolesome,lugubrious, leaden, wooden
Typist: Marcus
Examples
- Let her footstep, as she comes and goes, in these pages, be like that other footstep to whose airy fall your own heart once beat time. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Her life was ebbing fast, when her friends acceded to her earnest desire to be removed to a more airy situation. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- This airy young Barnacle was quite entertained by his simplicity in supposing for a moment that it was. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Hither, hither, from thy home, Airy sprite, I bid thee come! Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Yes, thou shalt revisit the land of thy birth, I thought, as I looked invidiously on the airy voyager; but we shall, never more! Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- We are so very airy! Jane Austen. Emma.
- For Airy this was a crucial question; but to Adams it seemed unessential, and he failed to reply. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- In September, 1845, he gave the results to Chal lis, who wrote to Airy on the 22d of that month that Adams sought an opportunity to submit the so lution personally to the Astronomer Royal. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- His touch was brilliant and firm, and his fingers flew over the keys with a rapid and bird-like motion, airy, and yet decided. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- I think, sir,' said Mortimer, breaking the awkward silence with his airy self-possession, 'that you did me the honour to mention my name? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
Edited by Laurence