sultry

Adjective

sultry (comparative sultrier, superlative sultriest)

1. Hot and humid; sweltering.
   • Other ſignes of the Hiues fullneſſe and readineſſe to ſwarm are at the Hiue-doore, […] Fourthly, their firſt lying forth in foggy and ſultrie mornings & euenings, & going in again when the aire is cleere.1623, Charles Butler, “Of the Swarming of Bees, and the Hiuing of Them”, in The Feminine Monarchie: Or The Historie of Bees. Shewing Their Admirable Nature, and Propertes, Their Generation, and...
   • On recollecting myself, I diſcovered that I had almoſt reached the entrance of the lagoon, and determined to venture in, if poſſible, to take a few fiſh, […] I ſoon caught more trout than I had preſent occaſion for, and the air was too hot and ſultry to admit of their being kept for many hours...1793 January, William Bartram, “Art. II. Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges or Creek...

   Synonyms:

   oppressive, muggy, sticky

2. Emitting great heat.
   • The battlefield—an undulating, parched, and dusty expanse—is lying under the sultry sun of a July afternoon.1908, Thomas Hardy, The Dynasts: A Drama of the Napoleonic Wars, […], part third, London: Macmillan and Co., […], →OCLC, Act I, scene iii, page 15
3. (figuratively) Sexually enthralling.
   • When Chicanos think about us at all, they perpetuate the stereotypes. Gabacho depiction of us as emotionally unchecked, sultry women lusting after pale bodies is just an extension of the fantasy they have about all women. Such dishonest portrayals are why Chicanas are "breaking the silence," as...1980, [Juan D.] Bruce-Novoa, “Bernice Zamora”, in Chicano Authors: Inquiry by Interview, Austin, Tex.; London: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 214
   • Geeta Dutt was the wife of Guru Dutt and largely sang for the heroines in his films. Her voice was sultrier than the others, often recognisable by a slightly erotic quality felt through a distinctive quivering in the voice as heard in the song ‘Na Jao Saiyan Chuda Ke Baiyan’ (‘Don’t let go of my...2012, Kush Varia, “Narrative and Genres”, in Bollywood: Gods, Glamour, and Gossip, New York, N.Y.; Chichester, West Sussex: Wallflower Press, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 39