Definitions

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

  • adjective Lacking sufficient ventilation; close.
  • adjective Having the respiratory passages blocked.
  • adjective Dull and boring.
  • adjective Rigidly adhering to conventional standards; strait-laced.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Close, as if from being stuffed and unaired; musty from closeness; oppressive to the head or lungs.
  • Stuffed out; fat: said of a person.
  • Affected as if by stuffing; muffled: said of the voice or speech.
  • Made of good stuff; stout; resolute; mettlesome.
  • Angry; sulky: obstinate.

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

  • adjective Scot. Stout; mettlesome; resolute.
  • adjective United States Angry and obstinate; sulky.
  • adjective Ill-ventilated; close.

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

  • adjective Poorly ventilated; partially plugged.
  • adjective Stout; mettlesome; resolute.
  • adjective Angry and obstinate; sulky.
  • adjective Boring, uninteresting, over-formal, pompous, very conventional.
  • noun US, Canada, colloquial A stuffed animal or other plush toy.

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

  • adjective lacking fresh air
  • adjective affected with a sensation of stoppage or obstruction
  • adjective excessively conventional and unimaginative and hence dull

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word stuffy.

Examples

  • Mr. Guccione stressed to advertisers that Penthouse was not for pipe smokers in stuffy robes.

    Bob Guccione, 79, founder of Penthouse magazine T. Rees Shapiro 2010

  • While other college students are in stuffy classrooms, about a dozen are earning credit tending a Vermont farm.

    Students dig into sustainable farming at Vermont college 2009

  • This net work will show what it ` s viewers want to see African Americans clubbing it up, not in stuffy dances at round tables but in rowdy bars and questionable venues like an after game NBA Allstar Party.

    Democratic Convention, Yes. Republicans, Not So Much - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • I am a highly educated, successful career woman who finally realized that we women are getting ripped off by the current culture and the educational establishment who is brainwashing us into a life of hectic, unfulfilling work in stuffy cubicles working long, stressful hours to earn enough so that we can "relax" on a beach somewhere.

    Get in on Life... 2007

  • Here she was shut up in her bedroom, which was stuffy from the afternoon sun that had been pouring into it, instead of out in the cool garden, and all because of Mr. Briggs.

    The Enchanted April 1922

  • But even this conservative - some would call it 'stuffy' - city (where men dress like insurance adjusters, according to GQ) has been dragged kicking and screaming into the Internet Age in which one's influence depends very much on the ability to produce information, manipulate symbols, construct narratives and leverage ideas.

    Global Paradigms 2009

  • i think it would be great for people who work in stuffy factories. but i personally would never wear one in public. by the way, they cost about 100 dollars. which is pretty pricey … or not, for keeping cool.

    Smart Mobs » Blog Archive » USB Air Conditioned Shirt 2006

  • He was dedicated to reinvigorating an institution that the Guardian newspaper once described as stuffy and uninspired, “a bastion of sluggishness.”

    Book Excerpt: ‘Provenance’ 2009

  • A stuffy is a baby crocodile mounted by a taxidermist to be sold as a souvenir.

    Steve and Me Terri Irwin 2007

  • A stuffy is a baby crocodile mounted by a taxidermist to be sold as a souvenir.

    Steve and Me Terri Irwin 2007

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.