PUFFY (puffier, puffiest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: puffier    , puffiest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does puffy mean? 

• PUFFY (adjective)
  The adjective PUFFY has 3 senses:

1. being puffed out; used of hair style or clothing

2. abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas

3. blowing in puffs or short intermittent blasts

  Familiarity information: PUFFY used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PUFFY (adjective)

Comparative: puffier   
Superlative: puffiest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Being puffed out; used of hair style or clothing

Synonyms:

bouffant; puffy

Context example:

a bouffant skirt

Similar:

big; large (above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas

Synonyms:

intumescent; puffy; tumescent; tumid; turgid

Context example:

puffy tumid flesh

Similar:

unhealthy (not in or exhibiting good health in body or mind)

Derivation:

puffiness (an abnormal protuberance or localized enlargement)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Blowing in puffs or short intermittent blasts

Synonyms:

gusty; puffy

Context example:

gusty winds

Similar:

stormy ((especially of weather) affected or characterized by storms or commotion)

Derivation:

puff (a short light gust of air)

 Context examples 

New data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have provided the first clues to the chemistry of two of these super-puffy planets, which are located in the Kepler 51 system.

('Cotton Candy' Planet Mysteries Unravel in New Hubble Observations, NASA)

Its mass is 1.2 times that of Jupiter, and its radius is about 1.9 times Jupiter's — making it puffier.

(Hubble Detects Exoplanet with Glowing Water Atmosphere, NASA)

The heavy metals are escaping partly because the planet is so big and puffy that its gravity is relatively weak.

(Hubble Uncovers a ‘Heavy Metal’ Exoplanet Shaped Like a Football, NASA)

Specifically, they discovered that the exoplanets TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c, approximately 40 light-years away, are unlikely to have puffy, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres usually found on gaseous worlds.

(Hubble Telescope Makes First Atmospheric Study of Earth-Sized Exoplanets, NASA)

The skin becomes puffy around the eyes and on the cheeks and the face is dull and expressionless with thickened nose and lips.

(Myxedema, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Instead, is has a puffy atmosphere that is free of high-altitude clouds.

(NASA Finds a Large Amount of Water in an Exoplanet's Atmosphere, NASA)

Challenger said nothing, but looked pompous and puffy, as if he could if he would, so that finally Lord John asked his opinion direct.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The puffy outer dust structure is like a donut-shaped inner tube that got hit by a truck.

(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)

The country detective was a stout, puffy, red man, whose face was only redeemed from grossness by two extraordinarily bright eyes, almost hidden behind the heavy creases of cheek and brow.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They may include: • Fatigue • Weight gain • A puffy face • Cold intolerance • Joint and muscle pain • Constipation • Dry skin • Dry, thinning hair • Decreased sweating • Heavy or irregular menstrual periods and fertility problems • Depression • Slowed heart rate

(Hypothyroidism, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)