sooty
/ˈsʊti/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈsʊti/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈsu̇-tē ˈsə-, ˈsü-/ (ame, mw)
sooty — adjective
- sootypositive
- sootiercomparative
- sootiestsuperlative
1. having a layer of soot on the surface — soot being the soft black dust left behi
having a layer of soot on the surface — soot being the soft black dust left behind when wood, coal, or oil burns.
Tariro wiped a sooty handprint off the white kitchen wall.
describing a surface dirtied by soot
The fire left the bedroom curtains grey and sooty.
predicative: be left sooty after a fire
Sahil knelt by the old stove and cleaned its sooty inside pipe.
After the chimney sweep finished, his hands and face were completely sooty.
A sooty smell still hung in the burned-out shop the next morning.
用法筆記
Frequently describes surfaces, walls, hands, or clothing that have picked up soot from a fire, stove, or chimney. Distinguish from sense 2: here the thing is literally dirty, not merely soot-coloured.
常見錯誤
2. being a deep dull black, the same shade as soot, even when nothing is actually d
being a deep dull black, the same shade as soot, even when nothing is actually dirty.
A small bird with sooty feathers landed on Hiro's windowsill.
describing natural colour, not dirt
Sooty clouds rolled over the bay just before the storm broke.
describing dark sky colour
Talia chose a sooty shade of grey for the living-room walls.
The old cat had sooty patches across its soft white belly.
Sooty smoke curled from the volcano against the bright morning sky.
用法筆記
Subject is usually something whose dark colour is natural or permanent — feathers, clouds, smoke, fur, or a paint shade. Unlike sense 1, no actual soot is present; the word names the colour, not a dirty state.