teary

English

Etymology

From Middle English tery; equivalent to tear +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪəɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American, mirror–nearer merger) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪɹi/
• (US, without the mirror–nearer merger) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪɚi/, /ˈtiɹi/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈtiɹɪ/, /ˈtiɹe/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈtiəɹi/
• (East Anglia, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛːɹi/
• Rhymes: -ɪəɹi

Adjective

teary (comparative tearier, superlative teariest)

1. Of a person, having eyes filled with tears; inclined to cry.

   Synonyms: cryey, sobful, weepy; see also Thesaurus:tearful

   Antonym: dry-eyed

   No wonder Ryan was teary; he missed his parents.

2. Of eyes, filled with tears.

   Synonyms: moist, tear-filled, wet

   Antonym: dry

   Wade looked into his girlfriend's teary eyes.

Derived terms

• tearily
• teariness
• teary-eyed

Translations

filled with tears

• Czech: uslzený, slzavý
• Finnish: kyyneleinen (fi)
• French: larmoyant (fr)
• German: larmoyant (de)
• Italian: lacrimoso
• Māori: matawai, matawaia, toriwai, tōwahiwahi, tōwāwahi
• Polish: łzawy (pl)
• Russian: слёзный (ru) (sljóznyj)
• Turkish: sulu gözlü (tr)

Anagrams

• e-tray