clammy

CEFRB2

/ˈklæmi/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Unpleasantly wet and slightly cold or sticky.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    The quality of normal skin signs, epidermis that is neither diaphoretic nor dry.

Examples

  • As I stepped outside, the air felt clammy.

  • Nobody enjoys a clammy handshake.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Cold and damp, usually referring to hands or palms.

More examples

In context

  • His hands were clammy from fright.

  • The cause is a temperate conglutination ; for both bodies are clammy and viscous , and do bridle the deflux of humours to the hurts , without penning them in too much

  • Jenny Lee reached out and took hold of the man’s hand. It was cold and clammy, a deadlike feeling.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

His blank hands left damp marks on the polished tabletop.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English clam (“viscous, sticky; slimy”) + -y, from Old English clǣman (“to smear, bedaub”). Compare German klamm (“clammy”) and klemmen (“to be stuck, stick”). See also clam.