puffy

adjective

ˈpə-fē 

puffier; puffiest

1

a

: swollen in size : bloated

puffy lips

… Hagrid gazed at him for a moment through his puffy, blackened eyes, apparently taken aback.

—J. K. Rowling

… who was … blind drunk, her voice slurry and her face puffy.

—Edna O'Brien

also : chubby

Fatty Hicks, the shrill and puffy son of Nat, flapped his hand at the beautiful stranger …

—Sinclair Lewis

b

: having a puffed up form or appearance : soft, light, and fluffy

puffy white clouds

a puffy bun

puffy hair

It is very difficult to shake hands when you're wearing ski mittens. They're so puffy and fat it's like shaking hands with giant marshmallows.

—Ann M. Martin

Not far away is a Georgian bakery where we found long, puffy loaves of wonderfully crisp bread.

—Jeffrey Steingarten

2

: blowing in puffs : gusty

a strong, puffy wind

3

: characterized by vanity or ostentation : pompous, showy

puffy rhetoric

All of my small, puffy pride at being the skipper of a tiny unit in a great nation victorious over the forces of evil seemed to blow away before the drunken racket of those three thousand men.

—Louis Auchincloss

puffiness

ˈpə-fē-nəs 

noun

Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness, headache and disorientation, as well as bloating and puffiness in the face and fingers.

—Susan Gilbert

Examples of puffy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The puffy material is soft and cushiony, adding an extra layer of protection for my belongings, especially my laptop, which fits right into its own padded compartment. —Lois Alter Mark, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2025

On a plane, the morning after the night before, on a sweltering hot summer’s day, or shortly after consuming a salty feast… all scenarios commonly associated with the dreaded puffy face. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 7 Jan. 2025

The cinnamon rolls fuse together in the oven, forming a puffy casserole that's easily scoopable for serving. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 6 Jan. 2025

With 15 animal designs altogether, the show had guests like A$AP Rocky and Julianne Moore sitting on puffy chickens, pandas, and rabbits. —Natalia Torija, Curbed, 3 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1594, in the meaning defined at sense 3