tearier; teariest
1
a
: wet or stained with tears : tearful
teary eyes
b
: consisting of tears or drops resembling tears
2
: causing tears : pathetic
a teary story

Examples of teary in a Sentence

There were many teary eyes among those in the audience. He made a teary farewell to the fans.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Jamie’s phone-call confession sends Eddie into a teary existential crisis, one that ends with Eddie in Jamie’s bedroom, where his teen son tumbled down the social-media rabbit hole and peed his pants when cops came to arrest him. Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2025 The coughing fits and teary eyes that come with that moment are why smokeless fire pits have shot to the top of so many wish lists in recent years. Clint Davis, People.com, 22 Mar. 2025 Emotions escalated; an impassioned and teary speech was given, pointing out my wrongheadedness. Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024 Her fellow artists, including Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish, were teary in the audience following the history-making win. Evan Nicole Brown, TIME, 3 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for teary

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of teary was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Teary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teary. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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