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

Advertisement Later in the morning, a group of bearded men in hoodies and puffy jackets appearing on Syrian state television issued a statement saying that the Syrian government had been overthrown. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2024

People with allergies typically have itchy or watery eyes, puffy eyes, itchy throat, sneezing, runny nose or congestion, and a sinus headache. —Nicole Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman, 5 Dec. 2024

The soft white of this warm cashmere scarf is a nice, wintery touch that brightens a black puffy jacket or wool coat. —Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 2 Dec. 2024

Place balls on cookie sheets 2 inches apart and bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden and puffy. —Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1594, in the meaning defined at sense 3