Standard Lemma guide

velvety

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈvɛlvəti/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: V EH1 L V AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Like velvet; soft, smooth, soothing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: also, figuratively

Examples

  • The mouse was a warm, velvety weight in my hand.
  • The crooner had a velvety voice that made the ladies swoon.
  • 1964, Elie Wiesel, The Town Beyond the Wall (1962), translated by Stephen Becker, New York: Atheneum, 1964, p. 104, Tangier was washed in a velvety bluish twilight.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

resembling velvet in having a smooth soft surface

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: velvet

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

smooth and soft to sight or hearing or touch or taste

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: velvet, velvet-textured

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From velvet + -y.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: թավշակերպ (tʻavšakerp) — like velvet
  • Catalan: vellutat — like velvet
  • Catalan: envellutat — like velvet
  • Dutch: fluwelig — like velvet
  • Galician: aveludado — like velvet
  • German: samtig — like velvet
  • German: samtweich — like velvet
  • German: samtartig — like velvet
  • Hungarian: bársonyos — like velvet
  • Irish: veilbhitiúil — like velvet
  • Italian: vellutato — like velvet
  • Korean: 벨벳같은 (belbetgateun) — like velvet
  • Macedonian: кадифен (kadifen) — like velvet
  • Māori: perehunga — like velvet
  • Norwegian Bokmål: fløyelsaktig — like velvet
  • Polish: aksamitny — like velvet
  • Portuguese: aveludado — like velvet
  • Portuguese: veludíneo — like velvet
  • Portuguese: velutíneo — like velvet
  • Portuguese: veludoso — like velvet
  • Punjabi: ਮਖਮਲੀ (makhmalī) — like velvet
  • Romanian: catifelat — like velvet
  • Russian: бархати́стый (barxatístyj) — like velvet
  • Spanish: aterciopelado — like velvet
  • Spanish: terciopelado — like velvet
  • Swedish: sammetslen — like velvet
  • Welsh: melfedaidd — like velvet