Dictionary

misty en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈmɪsti/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English misty, mysty, misti, from Old English mistiġ (“misty, dark”), from Proto-West Germanic *mistig (“misty”), equivalent to mist + -y. Cognate with Scots misty, mistie (“misty”), West Frisian mistich (“misty, foggy”), Dutch mistig (“misty, foggy”), German Low German mistig (“foggy”).

Meanings

1. Covered in mist; foggy.
   • It's very misty this morning; I can't see a thing!
2. (figuratively) Dim; vague; obscure.
   • a misty memory of his childhood
   • But she soon found out how little equipped she was for college study. Not only was Ms. Segovia’s English rocky, but she had only the mistiest notions of what college was all about. 2010 July 23, Joseph Berger, “The Latino Lag”, in The New York Times:
   • Mr. Motian's own tunes, folk-simple locomotions of straight melody, fast or slow, with acres of room for interpretation, have accounted for some of the mistier sets. 2005 February 7, Ben Ratliff, “New CD's”, in The New York Times:
   • My remembrances of the place and its people are misty — all about it seem more like something I once saw in a dream, but whose characters time has effaced. 1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley, page 10:
3. (figuratively) With tears in the eyes; dewy-eyed.
   • Her eyes grew misty the night her long-time friend passed away.

Forms

Deriveds

unmisty · get misty · misty flip · misty-eyed · mistyish · mistily · misty rose

Relateds

mistify · mistiness

Translations (53)

gl con brétema (with mist; foggy) · pt marejado (with tears in the eyes) · es neblinoso (with mist; foggy) · cy niwlog (with mist; foggy) · ru мгли́стый (with mist; foggy) · gd ceòthach (with mist; foggy) · ca boirós (with mist; foggy) · ga ceomhar (with mist; foggy) · uk імлистий (with mist; foggy) · eo larmokula (with tears in the eyes) · oc tubós (with mist; foggy) · mi matawai (with tears in the eyes) · ru тума́нный (with mist; foggy) · ca bromós (with mist; foggy) · oc neblós (with mist; foggy) · nl mistig (with mist; foggy) · ja 霞み (with mist; foggy) · nl waterig (with tears in the eyes) · mi tōwahiwahi (with tears in the eyes) · pl mglisty (with mist; foggy) · mi ānehu (with mist; foggy) · es emboriado (with mist; foggy) · mi kōehuehu (with mist; foggy) · it velato (with tears in the eyes) · ca neulós (with mist; foggy) · fi sumuinen (with mist; foggy) · pt nublado (with mist; foggy) · es con neblina (with mist; foggy) · bg мъглив (with mist; foggy) · bg замъглен (with mist; foggy) · fr brumeux (with mist; foggy) · eo nebula (with mist; foggy) · ga ceoch (with mist; foggy) · mi tōwāwahi (with tears in the eyes) · kw niwlek (with mist; foggy) · bg насълзен (with tears in the eyes) · sco immis (with mist; foggy) · mi pūkohukohu (with mist; foggy) · it con foschia (with mist; foggy) · is móðuhulinn (with mist; foggy) · izh tumakka (with mist; foggy) · es lloroso (with tears in the eyes) · oc brumós (with mist; foggy) · mi toriwai (with tears in the eyes) · nrf embliâsé (with mist; foggy) · pt enevoado (with mist; foggy) · is mistraður (with mist; foggy) · es sentimental (with tears in the eyes) · la nebulōsus (with mist; foggy) · mi uwhango (with mist; foggy) · fi usvainen (with mist; foggy) · it nebbioso (with mist; foggy) · is társtokkinn (with tears in the eyes)